THREEFOLD DIVINE GUIDANCE.

A few persons may get wrong fanatical notions about being led of the Spirit, but where there is one who carries the leading of the Spirit into un warranted extravagances, there are a thousand professed Christians who are gross naturalistic skeptics concerning the daily and particular guidance of God.

This matter of guidance is just like the matter of salvation, it is according to our true scriptural faith. We are saved up to the degree of our true faith, and no more; and we are guided up to the measure of our true faith and no more. "As it is impossible to have too much saving faith, so it is impossible to have too much faith in Divine guidance; and a little examination will show that those who run into extravagance on this subject do not have Scripture faith, but have a presumptuous false. faith.

The provisions for the specific personal daily leading of the child of God are just as ample and infallible as are the provisions for salvation, and to be obtained by complying with the Scripture conditions. Just as the Father, Son and Holy Ghost unite in the work of salvation, so the whole Trinity unite and agree in the guidance of the believer. In examining the Scriptures upon this matter we find that the peculiar sphere of the Father's leading is providence, the peculiar sphere of Christ's guidance is the written word, and the peculiar sphere of the Spirit's guidance is direct conviction and illumination upon the heart and spiritual senses.

The providence of God touches at every point our physical being and wants, and appeals to our common sense; the Logos, the Word of God, takes hold of our immortal nature and appeals to our faith; the Holy Spirit operates immediately on our heart and mind, giving us such impel- lings or restrainings, such premonitions or drawings, such convictions or discernments, as compose the living, practical filling up of the outline of guidance. As in weaving a piece of cloth, the filling never runs beyond the loom and the warp, so the practical experiment of filling up of the leadings of the Spirit do not contradict or go beyond the loom of providence or the warp of the written word. We need all of this threefold Divine guidance. Those who are living in the Father's dispensation of law can recognize and appreciate the guidance only in external general providence; those who have passed into the Son's dispensation of reconciliation can see and appreciate the guidance of God in the special promises of His word as well as in providence, but the full believer who is in the experience of the fullness of the Spirit can apprehend the special guidance of God as no other can; to him who is crucified to self the Holy Spirit grants an illumination and direction, in comprehensible to imperfect believers; he can discern in the providence of the Father a special significance and minuteness which others are blind to; he can detect clear indications of God's will in the written word which others grossly stumble over; and besides these, he can hear that inner voice of the Spirit, can know the touches of a Divine finger on his soul impelling him along his God-given orbit. We may know that we are led of the Lord just as truly as know we are saved, and by the same Scripture laws. It is a pity that because a few turn the leading of the Spirit into fanaticism, scores get frightened, and distrusting the full office of the Spirit, draw back into the cold twilight of Divine things. Because one captain wrecks his steamer on an iceberg, do other sailors flee the high seas? How often it is true that the children of this world are wiser in their affairs than the children of light.

THE END.