to tell such believers, of what seems to me the necessary result of their belief, and how they can personally realize this result.

Mistakes in the telling there may be, and for these I ask the charity of my readers. But the thing I want to say, and to say in such a way that no one can fail to understand it, is not a mistake; and that thing is this, that our religious lives ought to be full of joy, and peace, and comfort, and that, if we become better acquainted with God, they will be.

II

WHAT IS HIS NAME?

"And Moses said unto God, Behold when I come unto the children of Israel and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shali say to me, What is His Name? what shall I say unto them?"

THE vital question of all ages and of every human heart is here expressed-"What is His Name?''

The whole fate of humanity hangs on the answer to this question.

As we all know, the condition of a country depends upon the character of its rulers. The state of an army depends upon the officers who command it. And the more absolute the government, the more is this necessarily the case.

We can see how it must be, therefore, that everything in a universe will depend upon the sort of Creator and Ruler who has brought that universe into existence, and that the whole welfare of the human beings who have been placed there, is of necessity bound up with the character of their Creator. If the God who created us is a good God, then everything must of necessity be all right for us, since a good God cannot ordain any but good things. is a bad God, or a careless God, or an unkind God, then we cannot be sure that anything is right, and can have no peace or comfort anywhere.

But if He

The true ground for peace and comfort is only to be found in the sort of God we have. Therefore we need first of all to find out what is His name, or, in other words, what is His character-in short, what sort of a God He is.

In Bible language name always means character. Names are not given arbitrarily there as with us, but are always given with reference to the character or work of the person named. Cruden, in his Concordance, says that the names of God signify that which He really is, and are used throughout the Bible to express His attributes, and His purposes, His glory, His grace, His mercy, and His love, His wisdom, and power, and goodness. A careful study of His names will make this plain.

When therefore the children of Israel asked, "What is His name?" they meant, "Who and what is this God of whom you speak? What is His character; what are His attributes; what does He do? In short, what sort of a Being is He?"

The Psalmist says, "They that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee: for Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee." And again he says, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth into it and is safe."

"They that know Thy name

will put their trust in Thee." They cannot do anything else, because in knowing His name they know His character and His nature, that He is a God whom it is safe to trust to the uttermost. And there can be no doubt that a large part of the unrest and discomfort in so many Christian hearts comes simply from the fact that they do not yet know His name.

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They are brought down and are fallen, but we are risen and stand upright." In all that we read concerning Israel of old we find this constant refrain, that all they were, and all they had, depended upon the fact that their God was the Lord. "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the

people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance." "O Lord, there is none like Thee, neither is there any God beside Thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And what one nation in the earth is like Thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be His own people to make Thee a name of greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations from before Thy people, whom Thou hast redeemed out of Egypt? For Thy people Israel didst Thou make Thine own people forever, and Thou, Lord, becamest their God." "Happy is that people that is in such a case, yea, happy is that people whose God is the Lord."

Blessed is that nation, happy is that people whose God is the Lord! All the blessing and happiness of Israel arose from the fact that their God was the Lord. Nothing else was of sufficient importance to be mentioned in the recapitulation of their advantages. The fact that their God was the Lord Jehovah, was enough to account for every good thing they possessed.

And God said

The question of all questions for each one of us therefore is this one," What is His name?" To the Israelites God Himself answered this question. unto Moses, "I am that I am"; and He said, “Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you." And God said moreover unto Moses, "Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob hath sent me unto you; this is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations."

In the gospel of John, Christ adopts this name of "I am as His own. When the Jews were questioning Him as to His authority, He said unto them, "Verily, verily, I

say unto you, before Abraham was I am.' And in the Book of Revelation He again declares, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."

These simple words "I am," express therefore eternity and unchangeableness of existence, which is the very first element necessary in a God who is to be depended upon. No dependence could be placed by any one of us upon a changeable God. He must be the same yesterday, to-day, and forever, if we are to have any peace or comfort.

But is this all His name implies, simply "I am"? I what?-v -we ask. What does this "I am " include?

am,

I believe it includes everything the human heart longs for and needs. This unfinished name of God seems to me like a blank check signed by a rich friend, given to us to be filled up with whatever sum we may desire. The whole Bible tells us what it means.

Every attribute of God, every revelation of His character, every proof of His undying love, every declaration of His watchful care, every assertion of His purposes of tender mercy, every manifestation of His loving kindness, all, all, are the filling out of this unfinished "I am."

God tells us through all the pages of His Book what He is. "I am," He says, all that My people need: "I am" their strength; "I am" their wisdom; "I am" their "I am "their salvation; "I am" their life; "I am" their all in all.

righteousness; "I am " their

peace;

This apparently unfinished name, therefore, is the most comforting name the heart of man could devise, because it allows us to add to it, without any limitation, whatever we feel the need of, and even "exceeding abundantly" beyond all that we can ask or think,