The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-02-24
Dr. Hobbs Speaks on
 God of the Bible


 church preached a forceful sermon yes terday morning to a large congregation. taking his text from Romans, eighth chapter and 2sth verse; And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God. to them who are he called, according to His purpose. " br. Hobbs said in part
 This passage of scripture is little un- derstood because a certan partion is so frequently left off that much of it's sense and impressiveness is lost. The words l and we know must be sufficiently em- phasized or we lose the proper phrasing and men fail to grasp the meaning. Mere words amount to very little. they are intended to express our thoughts and an idea must lie behind, The Al mighty stands behind the text. or these words are vain and worth less than the paper upon which they are Written In order to apply the text we must understand something about God, ', hat is your conception of God, and how can you describe Him? The Bible tells all about God. He is infinite and all perfec- ton. His character is described with at tributes. There are four or ilve attributes we must know, First, His omnipotence is forcibly impressed with the converse ton between Himself and Moses. When the great leader asked God how he
  Israel upon his return. God said tell them that I Am
 ''There is no such thing with God as past or future; He is etrnaily present and coexistent with eternity. He is om- npotent. and it is great to understand this omnipotence in it's tremendous sig niticance. The Bible teaches there is no power outside of Him. Even the tiniest | force, no matter how it operates. origi- 1 mi Jn tc oDnniripOt He knows what has occurred, what is occur | ring and what is to occur. He has noth- | thing to remember nothing to forget-He | konws.
 "God is Love The Bible gives the only definite decarative description when it records that He is God of Love. Traced throughout all influences God is love. No man can appreciate the glory of love without God God is justice-of justice, None can otherwise understand Him, | The only justice is from God. Perfect | laws cannot mete 1t out absolutely. The text would lose it's significance if hereft of justice.
 "A mans life is not all lived here human experience would make it foolish Ordinary life is less than an incident | in the preparatory stage for entering eternty Reason leads to the conclusion that this life is the vestibule to eternity Be assured that things and experiences come to us that cannot be explained. | 'The text does not embrace all people some have no right to quote it. It is in- tended for a certain restricted class to whom it means the doctrine of election. It was written flor those who love the Lord. The Bible teaches it and it Is no iuse to argue against It.. Do not worry about your election; know that you love the Lord and are called to His purposes. There are two descriptions of the bene- l fciaries of the text-those who love the Lord and those called, i. C. elected. 1 We must know--be sure to know that you love the Lord and you are elected. ] How can man know? Knowledge is based on faith faith that imparts us the ! knowledge that is best andi surest. All i things work together for good to them that love the Lord. God said it and we | know it. We hang to it and stand by l it. The promise is made, stand fast by God
 'The universality of cooperation works together for God Forces in nature CO operate to glorify and bless God. If you | feel alone and friendess in the world, think God has sent His agents to bring good things for your delectation. But there 1 is another Side. Sorrows and troubles are for a purpose. We must endure to be fit for our definite place that God 1 has prepared for us. Rivers of sorrows and difficulties are only fleeting and preparing us for heaven. As an illus tration, a man tired of the turmoil of life sought retirement and seclusion in his castle built upon the cliffs above a l river. As a means of entertainment he strung the wires of an aeolian harp be- ltween two towers. but the wires were too | heavy for the action of the gentle breezes playing above the water. and it was not until storm in it's frceness smote upon the strings and made weired music which sang a melody of God of love and soothed his exceeding loneliness.
 | Souls are deadened by the ordinary l blessings of life--they do not impress but