The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1913-01-24

day experiences prompts him to ask
rs it trustworthy, dependable?" IT G
man buys a fountain pen, he asks
xviii it write all the timer" AS the
aeronaut looks at his biplane OF
monoplane, and thinks Of being
5000 feet above the earth, he
asks: lis it dependable?" If q
man has bit of money and wishes
to lay 1t aside for a rainy day, he asks
of the bank in which he thinks of de
posting it: "Is it safe?" President
elect Wilson recently said: However
the variation may come, no matter
what the ephemeral feature may be-
no matter what the external form may
be, men are looking for a foothold;
they are looking for some firm ground
of faith upon which to walk"
Is it possible that man can ask with
reference to God: "Is he depend
able?" The gods Of the Egyptians
Greeks or Romans we're super-mun.
dane beings; and man was constantly
asking the question: will the gods
changer" We have proverb that has
come down the centuries, "As tickle
as the gods" The ancient religious
devotee would think of his gods as
mercuriaI, changeable beings, moved
by any wind that blew-he could
never trust them.
If we take the gods of today and
they are not the less gods than in
the days of old-money, place, appe-
Etite-men are bowling down to these
and worshiping them, and they may
well ask, Are they dependable" So
the subject of dependable God is
immensely practical, and those who
worship the God of the Bible claim
that he is dependable. He is the same
yesterday, today and forever, whether
'manifesting himself as Father, Son OF
Holy Spirit.
The Bible is full of claims of the
faithfulness of God, and God may be
placed in sharp contrast to the gods
that are in opposition or rivalry. The
true God never breaks a promise, as
THE text so clearly claims. There may
be some support to the idea Of the
dependability of God, as there is q
demand for this in God; just as we
claim that there is a God because
there is a demand for God. And again
the regularity and uniformity of move
ment of the various parts of Gods
creation is proof of the regularity and
uniformity in the Creator himself. We
know that the rising of the sun can be
depended on; seasons Of the year
never fail to alternate; the systems
that swing in illimitable space are SC
exact In their movements that those
movements can be calculated for milen
NUNS in advance to minutes and sec
onds-and God created all Of these
and he is as dependable as they.
God has given us many great and
precious promises"-of blessings ma
terial, blessings to the body polite
blessings to the intellectual and es
thetic nature, and to the spiritual In
man, both with respect to the expert
ences of this life, and the eternity
that stretches beyond.
The challenge of God as to his faith
fitness invites the closest examina
ton of his character for veracity, con
sequently for dependability. His
promises have been most specific; il
many cases given to individuals
dates, locations and circumstances be
ing definitely proclaimed hundreds o.
years before the things promised were
realized. Joshua was justified in his
strong assertion as he reviewed Gods
personal relationship to himself, fol
at the beginning of his career Gosh
1:5) God had given specific promises
and they had been fulfilled literally
We are not surprised that. the writer
of the epistle to the Hebrews should
say, Let US hold fast the profession
of our faith without wavering, for hi
is faithful that promised" The abso
luteness of the promises of God, ant
the implicitly of faith in those prom
Uses on the part of great number
of persons. make men stagger; bu
the accomplishments of such men a:
Hudson Taylor, George Muller ant
others of less fame fully establish tht
fact.
This dependa bility of God is compre
hensive. 1t means something beyond
his promises of blessings, and apple!
us well to the warnings and threat
enings of his word. In the history O.
Israel the threatenings because o
disobedience were as numerous, is no
more so, than the promises of bless
ings because of obedience. God be
ing just as dependable as to the car
rying out of the one as of the other
II God is proclaimed as faithful Got
Deut. 7:9) with respect to keeping
covenant and showing mercy to /;
thousand generations, it is shown il
the next verse that it is the same Coz
that "repays those who hate him facs
to face"
,"God will not change-the restless year
may bring
Sunlight and shade-glories of the spring
In silent gloom and sunless winter hours
Joy mixed with grief-sharp thorns will
frgrant flowers;
,Earth-lights may shine awhile, and thel
grow dim,
But God is true: there is no change il
him"
Defining Party Spirit.