St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1880-02-13


Blessed he the Lord which hath given
according to all that he promised :
there hath not failed one word ofall his
good promises. l Kings 8: SO.
cable to Do"
The titles of God, all the way through
the Bible, are among the most memo
rable elements in it. But PauPs is pc
culiar among them all. "To him that
is able to do exceeding abundantly
more than we can ask or think"-that
is Paul's title of God. Contrast that
with God the Omnipotent, the Omni-
scient and the Omnipresent-hOw broad
the difference is. Shake those phrases
and not a drop of dew falls from them f;
but ''him that is able to do exceeding
abundantly more than we can ask or
thimk"-what a character that is To
set that up in the center of thought, as
our thought of the One to whom we are
to go, the One on whom we lean, the
One who has a right to control us, the
One who is our Redeemer-what an
opening into the divine nature, and an
opening OF which we can avail our
selves, it affords.
Some aspects of the divine nature
tend to repel. We are afraid of insight
the searching of the lightning eyes
sets our fear oil fire; absolute justice
makes men tremble-guilt in the pres
ence of all desert is repealed. But here
is thought of the divine character
which opens everything to us, and in
spires us with hope and confidence.
Think what a field for asking there is
for ourselves, for our children, for our
acquaintance, for those we love, for our
whole growth in grace, for our whole
estate in life. What do we ask in the
realm of fear in remOrse, in penitence,
in hope, in the glowing emotions of
love, when all the soul is kindled 7
How wonderful is the power of asking,
of soliciting. And He is able to do
above all we ask.
cor think" How many things there
are that lie in thought beyond asking.
What a range has human thought; how
vast; how comprehensive and how
any man could, if he set about it, open
up province after province to his men
tai vision, and "a separate province to
each one of his faculties. There is not
a day goes over our heads in lich we
are not wishing something, in which we
are not in unsurpassed thought longing
for something for ourselves and for
others. And over this broad realm of
yearings and of thinkings and of the
very reveries Of thOught-Over all this
province looks our God, who, as it were,
smiles and says, ''That is nothing; am
the one that can do exceedingly album
dainty above all that you ask or think"
Little children are playing with their
dolls, and come to the mother to know
if they may have a little piece of tinsel
to put around the doll queens head,
and some little ribbons and cards
wherewith to build her Il palace and
she smiles and says, Certainly, GER
tainly;" and they think "How good
she is )" and they whisper to each other
and say, "She gives us just what we
ask for" Because they are little chill
dren the mother becomes little child
in her thought, in her sympathy aud
feeling. We are as children playing
with dolls, and when we 90 before God
he smiles at our requests that we fear
will tax his ability, or his generosity,
or his patience, and he grants them
when they will contribute to our hap
piness, and denies them when to grant
them would do us injury. BIT he is
never taxed, never surprised we can
never ask him too much; to every
trembling request he replies, u would
do exceeding more abundantly for you
than you can ask or think"
III ne is not long enough and the
world is not large enough for God to
furnish us with all the things for which
we long and which we need not till
we go home shall we see what our in
heritance is. 1t was this that led John
to cry out, 'Now are we the sons OF
God, but it doth not yet appear what
we shall be-" We know that is the re-
lation, but what its full significance is
sit doth not appear" ga mother may
forget her sucking child"-how rarely
in all the course of human life-"vet
will | not forget you" God remembers
us every day. We are not to trust God
us far as we can see him, but we are to
trust him absolutely. We are not to
gauge our faith and hope in him by
what we can reason, but, going with
reason as far as we can, we are then to
make bold leap beyond for we have
God that doeth Exceeding abundant
ly beyond all we can ask or Think
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