Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1923-08-30


shared by the
dom and schemes to fulfil the promise
of God. God permitted him to live by
his own plans and devices until he
longed for some divine word more than
for the very breath Of life. This Ia
the word that came to him: Il am Ell
Shaddai."
!. A New Name for God.---It is very
difficult for us upon whom the sun Of
all the divine perfection shines, who
possess the perfected revelation, to.
comprehend the slow and difficult
process by which God became known,
to men. To the generations OF Adam,
and Noah, He was known as Elohim,
the creator and preserver of life. 1t
required millenniums to find few
men who believed In personal God,
transcending every form and fashion
Of creation, and possessing infinite
wisdom, power and goodness. Not I'M
til Abraham obeyed the call Of such a.
God, and followed II through strange!
and difficult circumstances, did God
find man who was prepared to under
stand fuller revelation. When the
magnanfmity Of the patriarchal char
acter was manifested after the BATTLE
OF the kings by Abraham's refusal to-
| accept gifts from the king of Sodom,
God revealed Himself to Abraham
bearing new name. Il am Eel Elyon,
possessor Of heaven and EARTH" Then
when the patriarch was ready for a
further disclosure of the divine char
acter, this time through penitence and
contrition, came this, 81 am El Shad-
dai, the God who is enough"
You will notice that both Of these
names for God are compounds OF the
original name Elah, the singular Of
Eiohlm. This new name by which God
was to be known was both a rebuke
and an encouragement. The man OF
! faith who stepped aside from trusting
God to fulfill the sacred covenant Of
| feshy devices needed rebuke. Infinite
love must chasten sin. II was an en-
couragement--for the many-breasted
God can supply every need Not one
word Of all He had promised shall
/ fail TO know God as I'll Shaddai Is
to catch the spirit Of the Panama
! builders, as some one expressed It,.
Got any mountains that cannot be
tunneIed, any rivers that cannot be
crossed? We specialize in the impos-..
sible.' This Is the battle cry Of the
man who has heard the Infinite whis-
per In his soul, II am El Shaddai."
"All things are possible to him that
believeth."
II. A New Necessity for Abraham
BE perfect" Impossible, yes, for a
weak vacillating mortal, but not for a
man who knows I'll Shaddai. Here is
sufficiency. 1t Is challenging impera-
| tive. Dared Abraham respond In the
venture Of faith or did he weaken
through doubt and hesitate In fear7
Did he really believe God Is Almighty
"Be perfect ~ If he had cried, II cam
not he would have made provisi0n
| for the flesh; he would have made an
| apology for weakness; he would have
flung back to God the denial of His
power to meet every need. But did
this happen? Instead faith exultingly
shouted its battle cry and went for
ward to this divine ideal.
However, we must needs ask, What
did God require Of the patriarch with
this Imperative, BE perfect? Did He
mean sinlessness, an absolution Of hui
man character? It Eeems hardly pos
| sible that this was the intention OF
God. Such perfection Is not required
| in the New Testament idealism of the
revealed will of God for His children,
much less In the dim twilight of the
patriarchal dispensation. Abraham
fully understood what God meant. BE
perfect" was call to exchange his
confidence in his own powers for the
inexhaustible sufIiciency of God. 1t re-
lated to heart attitude rather than at
| tainment.
| Gods eternal call to every child OF,
! Adam is found in these words. Moth
| ing short Of perfection could satisfy
/ Gods heart or make fellowship with
man possible. The secret Of this re-
| quirement is found in the three words
-"Walk before me-" If this condition
is met, the imperative changes to a
positive indication. walk before me
and We shall be perfect" The word
walk" always symbolizes conduct. 1t
needs no argument to prove that if we
conceive Of our daily activities wrought
out in the immediate conscious pres
ence of God, we will be perfect In
His presence only one heart attitude
could be possible-an attitude of utter
dependence, desire to please Him
and a determination to will His will
If ever mortal man has reflected the
divine perfection, it mas always and
only been when he was acutely sensi-