I awoke from troubled sleep in the midst of most peculiar and terrible weakness. I was not conscious of any affright, as though, like Job, I had been scared through dreams, and terrified through visions; but as I awoke my whole life seemed to lie spread out before me as in the sight of God, and in it all I saw nothing but sin and evil, with not one redeeming, meritorious feature. I was as one brought before his king, in whose service he had been specially engaged in important matters of trust, and whom he had professed to love and honor, Charged with unworthy motives and traitorous acts, which he could not deny, and yet who was himself the most utterly surprised by his own guilt, having been unconscious of any crime, or even of any evil intent, but on the contrary who had thought he loved his king so much that he would have given his life in his service.

This but imperfectly intimates the kind of weakness which possessed my soul as I awoke that Sunday morning. It is impossible for me to describe the exercises of my mind in that condition; the deep sinking down of my soul under the sense of being myself what I most loathe, and of falling infinitely below what I most love and revere; the surprise at recognizing in myself the crimes I hate, and of which I was before unconscious, and of standing under them before the Lord without defense; the sore hurt of the wounds that sin has made, and of the fiery darts of Satan, felt through all my being; the panting of my soul after God, and the hopeless cry unto him even in the shudder and tremble of death; the gathering, as it were, before me of all the elements of trouble and weakness, and all the bitter touches and tasted of sorrow that I had felt, and awaiting in the dull amazement of grief the coming of that deeper night whose darkness must soon be upon me.

How long this feeling lasted I do not know; there is no measure of time in this condition. It seemed but a moment when out of very darkness and trouble of my soul these words seemed to come forth most mysteriously, and to place themselves before my wondering sight: "OUT OF WEAKNESS WE ARE MADE STRONG." It was indeed amazing. I cannot describe the wonderful appearance of the words, my surprise that they should appear, nor their transforming power. They were inexpressibly beautiful to me, and their sweetness filled my soul with holy and wondering delight. I thought of Paul when that terrible night of sorrow and pain was lighted up by the dear words, "My grace is sufficient for thee."

These words, "Out of weakness were made strong," were my text that day, but I could tell only a little of what they were to me. I had nothing to do with bringing them to my mind, nor in producing the wonderful change which they wrought in my feelings. In a moment light seemed to shine out of the very darkness I had experienced, and I felt strong in the sense in which I had been weak before. I was not strong in myself, no stronger in myself than before, but "strong in Lord, and in the power of his might." The strength seemed to appear out of that very weakness which had been so distressing. I had been made to feel, as I had many times before, my weakness before the Lord being absolutely without defense in myself against the charges of sin and iniquity, and so had been brought to the end of the earth, to the end of earthly strength, when through these precious words of Jesus appeared as my defense, and I was at once strong in him. He had satisfied the claim of the law, and removed it from me forever, and so in him I had "righteousness and strength." I did not make myself strong, but out of weakness was made strong, and yet it was the work of faith.

This precious sentence occurs in the midst of a rich cluster of such sentences, each giving examples of wonderful things done by faith. It had not been especially familiar to me above the other sentences yet now it came by itself alone, as though taken out from among others and handed to me for mine. This experience, then, of the love and grace of God, in making me strong in him, was to be shown to me as my own work by faith; for the apostle is telling of works done by the faith of the people of God, to their own wonder and amazement. The works of faith which they are thus said to have done, appear to themselves as far from being their own work as would be the opening of their eyes if they had been born blind, or as is the rising of the sun upon us in the morning.

It is of the peculiar character and mysterious work of faith that the apostle is speaking in all this connection. He points to examples and witnesses of the experience of faith as "the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen." Those things which God has provided for his people cannot be seen by the natural eye nor understood by the natural mind, as it is written, "Eye hath not seen, our ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for those that love him: but God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit."--1 Cor. ii. 9. These heavenly things are revealed to faith. (Romans i. 17.) It is thus that the faith which is the substance of things hoped for, is also the evidence of those same things which are not seen by the natural sight. Being thus hidden from the wise and prudent, from the natural wisdom and understanding of men, and revealed only to babes; these gospel things can only be understandingly talked about by those babes, who have mutual faith. (Matt. xi. 25.)

In all these examples which the apostle has given to illustrate the meaning and power of faith, things which are impossible with men, but which are experienced by them, are said to be their own work by faith. Thus Enoch's translation that he should not see death, was the work of God, yet the apostle says that by faith he was translated. So, "By faith women received their dead raised to life again." These women did nothing by which they recovered their children from death, but the faith which God gave them, and Enoch, and all that great cloud of witnesses, laid hold upon the purposes and power of God, and caused them to see and believe and earnestly desire and pray for what the Lord purposed to do. So Jesus said to the sorely afflicted father, who besought him to heal his son, "Believest thou that I can do this? All things are possible to him that believeth." The belief has no effect upon the work, no power to produce the desired result. The purpose and work of God are not caused by the belief, but the belief is because of God's purpose and work. The women who received their dead raised to life again, and the father who received his restored son, from the hand of Jesus, did nothing to bring to themselves such unspeakable blessings, yet they were not passive in the work as a piece of wood or stone is passive under the hand of the workman. They were mightily wrought upon by the unseen power of faith. That faith given to them had power to penetrate into the mysterious purposes of God, to discover his will, to know what he had determined to do, and thus that faith, as the evidence of things not seen, caused them to believe and to pray. It was such faith that caused Elijah to pray earnestly that it might not rain, a thing he could not have desired as a man, but which he earnestly desired when it was revealed to his faith as the purpose of God to bring this judgment upon his rebellious people. He had nothing to do in causing the rain to be withheld, nor afterward in causing it to be sent upon the earth; yet he was not passive under the power of that faith to which was opened up the things of God, but urgently moved to pray for What God had designed to do. The apostle says that by faith Daniel stopped the mouths of lions, and by faith the Hebrew children quenched the violence of fire. But Daniel said the Lord sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths, and the heathen king recognized the power of God in saving those whom he had commanded to be thrown into the furnace from being burned by the fire.

GREATER WORKS

At this point I will, following out the same subject, refer to words of the dear Savior in John xiv. 12: "Verily, verily, I say you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto Father." I have many times been asked for my understanding this declaration, and have written briefly concerning it in letters, and once or twice for publication. I think they are to understood in the light of these examples of the character and of faith referred to by Paul in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews.

Many have tried to discover and explain how believers in Jesus can do such works as he did, and especially how they can do greater works than he did. Those who esteem the power of men as prominent and paramount in the work of salvation will readily indorse the sentiment that Jesus so started the work of salvation, and so laid out his plan, and so instructed his disciples, that they should continually advance in power and effectiveness, and so attain unto results far beyond what Jesus attained unto while here. They will illustrate this view by referring to any great enterprise in worldly business, in the one who begins and establishes the business is far outstripped those who succeed him in prosecuting it, as each successive improves upon the implements, methods and power. So I heard preacher say, years ago, "The least christian now can save more soul than Jesus did when on earth, for he only began the work, and out the plans, which have been improving and growing ever since."

This, of course, was consistent with the doctrine that Jesus began the work of salvation, and left it for his followers to carry on. Those who regard the subject in this way do not know anything of a salvation begun and finished by Jesus, and revealed unto his people by his holy Spirit in this gospel dispensation. But sometimes we see those who do know the gospel of God's grace, trying to explain how his people do the same kind of works that Jesus did while he was here in the flesh, and how also they do even greater works than he did.

But the dear Savior did not say that those who believed on him should do such works as he did while he was in the flesh; neither did he say that they should do greater works than he did. A comparison of men and their works with Jesus and his works, in this sense of being less or greater, is never made by him or his apostles. He speaks of himself being greater than Solomon and Jonah, but only as the reality is greater than the type. He does not compare his works with men's works, nor himself with men, as in the sight and estimation of God, for no man but himself is ever regarded with favor by the Father, nor can appear commended before him; nor are the works of any man but Jesus ever accepted and approved by the Father. All that appear before God at any time must appear in the name of Jesus, and all that ever are accepted of the Father are accepted with Jesus, and in his perfect, finished work. All who come with any works but his to plead, are pronounced workers of iniquity.

Jesus said of him who believed on him that he should do the works that he did; not works like them, but the very same works. He gave his apostles power to do miracles, but those are not the works he is speaking of here. That was a special power which he gave personally to the apostles. Also there were signs that should follow them that believed upon the preaching of the apostles, which were fulfilled, and are still fulfilled in a spiritual sense. It is to be remembered that in the name of Jesus all those wonders were to be done, and in that name they are still done as signs. But that name must be, not upon the lips, but in the heart; and then the power of it will be manifest. It is not the will of the man that is wrought by the power of this name, for by that will he would, like Simon, desire the power for his own gratification; but it is the will of Jesus that is wrought by the power of his name.

The work that Jesus did, and the work that the believer did, were not two similar works, but the same work, as the work of God in closing the lions' mouths, and the work of Daniel, who "by faith stopped the mouths of lions," was the same work. It was only upon the believer that Jesus did works of healing. In one place he could do no mighty works because of their unbelief. If some should think that in some sense the faith, and the belief which results from faith, are ours to exercise according to our will, then let him consider why only two since the world began have gone from this world without dying. Surely if faith can be exercised at the will ~f any man, many, very many, would have been translated like Enoch, that they should not see death. By faith the eyes of the blind were opened, the ears of the deaf were unstopped, the long sick were healed in a moment, the touch of the hem of Jesus' garment caused the issue of blood to be staunched in an instant, and all the wonderful works of Jesus were experienced by the poor and needy. It was his work in their behalf, and it was also their work by faith. He ascribes the power and salvation to their faith. "Thy faith hath saved thee," yet he gave that same faith. "He is the author and the finisher of our faith."

In the case of the dead raised to life, the faith was not in the dead, but in those who mourned their death, and who received them raised to life again. Martha must acknowledge that she believed, before Lazarus could be raised. The poor souls who sought the healing power of Jesus did not know of that great riches of faith in them until Jesus told them of it, and showed them its fruit; and it is the same today. The poor lepers who are, in their soul's experience, at Jesus' feet, acknowledging his power, and beseeching his mercy to heal them, do not know that the blessed faith of the Son of God is in them. If they had not that faith they would not, could not, mourn on account of their sins, nor pray for mercy and healing. They may seem to hear Jesus say, "I am not sent to you," yet they will worship him, and say, "Lord, help me." They may seem to hear him say, is not meet to take the children's bread and give it to dogs," and will say, That is just what I am, "But the dogs eat of the crumbs fall from the master's table. I crave a crumb, and that is all I Faith was there all the time, urgent, persistent, never-failing and the work is done. Jesus did the work, and the poor, soul has done it also by that faith which is the gift of God.

Jesus did not say, "He that believeth on me shall do greater works than I can do," but greater works than these that I am doing now. He was still in the flesh, and under the law. The works that he did then were all works that could be seen by men. They were great and wonderful, but were only figurative of the greater spiritual works which he must do before he could go unto his Father. He must die because of the sins of his people, and thus fulfill the law and destroy death; he must rise from the dead and show his risen body to witnesses chosen before, and then ascend up on high, carrying captivity captive. Then when he went unto the Father he would send forth his light and his truth, and lead his people to his holy habitation, the church of the living God. When he went unto his Father then would all his work of salvation be made manifest in his people; and how much greater are these works in bringing his people to a knowledge of himself than the works he did while in the flesh for the healing and comfort of the bodies of his people, only they who have experienced them can know.

To raise one to life again, who had died, is a great work, but much greater the work when death itself is destroyed, and they who were under its dominion are raised up to die no more. To command the winds and waters to be still, and cause a great calm on the sea that was in terrible commotion, was the work of an infinite God, but: it is a greater work to cause peace and quiet in the soul that has been in trouble on account of the storms of wrath against sin. To open the eyes of one that was born blind, and to unstop the deaf ears, are great works, but to open the eyes of a poor sinner spiritually, and unstop his ears, so that he can see the glorious works of salvation for himself, and hear the voice of Jesus declare his sins forgiven, are infinitely greater works, greater as eternity is greater than this short life in time, and higher as the heavens are higher than the earth.

All these greater works of Jesus in his gospel, are works which his people do by faith. His works are their works. By faith in his name the lame walk and the lepers are cleansed. By faith they destroy death and overcome the world. By faith they resist the devil, and overcome the wicked one. By faith they quench his fiery darts, and gain the victory through the name of Jesus.

Those who are in the habit of thinking of the Lord's people as doing works in their own name or as distinct from Jesus must remember that in all that pertains to salvation they are one with him, as he became one with them in bearing their sins and suffering in the flesh. The mystery which was hid from the former ages and dispensations, but is now made manifest unto the saints in the gospel day, "Is Christ in them the hope of glory." It is his power within them by which they work. He works in them both to will and to do of his good pleasure. His Spirit works in them mightily when he will accomplish his will in them. Our works are not wrought by us and then submitted to him for judgment, but all our works that are acceptable are wrought in him. All other works are works of the flesh, dead works, works of iniquity; and in the judgment which is upon us when Jesus appears those works are condemned. We are condemned for fleshly works, and the fire of God's word burns them up; but we are not praised or rewarded for spiritual works, although there is a sweet reward felt in our souls in them, for to Jesus the praise is due for every good work. By his power and grace, and in his holy name alone, could we ever possibly do good works; therefore to him the thanks abound for them. But always our God is our exceeding great reward, sweetly felt when we are enabled to walk in the light of his countenance, but known and felt to be such also when we walk in darkness and have no light.

What a blessed thing it is to feel this holy oneness with Jesus; to feel that we are accepted with him and in him; to feel from time to time the victory given unto us over every enemy through his dear and blessed name; to feel that we are new creatures to him, not by any work or power of our own, but "the workmanship of God, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before, ordained that we should walk in them."

How blessed and full of delight are these "greater works" of the gospel which are now made manifest to our faith, and become ours by faith, to be done by us as the need for them comes upon us, because Jesus went unto his Father. It is a risen and glorified Savior who dwells in the believer, working in him "all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power." Therefore "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." The "greater works" of-Jesus are not known by the natural man, who could see the works he did while here in the flesh, but they are only known as they are manifested in and through poor sinners redeemed by his precious blood, and given faith in his name, by which his power and salvation become experimentally theirs. They are hid from the wise and prudent, and revealed to these babes. It is only by faith, and not by natural sight or wisdom, that these babes see and know these greater .works, and that they know Jesus who wrought them, though he dwells m them and walks in them, and will make his strength perfect in their weakness. It is only as flesh and heart faileth them from time to time, that they are fully prepared to know and experience that the Lord is the strength of their heart, and their portion forever. (Psalm lxxiii. 26.)

JUNE 16, 1900.