The Power of Will in Forming Faith.
By R. F. Cottrell
THE submission of the will to God is the great point in conversion to God and Christian experience. Our faith is more dependent upon the will than is generally conceded. Unbelief is stubborn. It will set aside as worthless any amount of evidence. As an illustration of this, I will relate a part of a recent conversation with a minister, on the time of the commencement of the Sabbath. I referred him to Gen. 1, to prove that each day begins with the evening; and then to Lev. 23: 32—"From even unto even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath." But he objected that we have no means of knowing when the evening begins. That was the question he wished to have decided. I stated the well-known fact that God's ancient people began the day with the going down of the sun; and then read to him the following scriptures: Josh. 8: 29: "And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide; and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcass down from the tree." Chap. 10: 26, 27: "And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees; and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening. And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees." Matt. 8: 16: "When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed of devils; and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick." Luke 4: 40: "Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them." Mark 1: 32: "And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils." And what was the minister's reply? It was that he saw no evidence in these passages that the evening commenced with the setting of the sun. Now I submit that had he been really desirous to learn from the Scriptures when one day ends and another begins, the evidence would have been entirely satisfactory. And so it is on all the main points of Scripture doctrines. Did men devoutly desire to know the duties enjoined in the ten commandments, they could find all the evidence they could desire. If they wished to understand the signs of the times, and to learn concerning the advent of Christ, whether it is near or remote, they would find abundant proof that his coming is near even at the doors. And so of other points of doctrine. Those who wish to correct their errors in doctrine by the Bible can do so. But if they are strongly inclined to retain the errors of their education, the plainest declarations of the Scriptures will fail to convince. Infidelity in professors of faith in the Scriptures, is very much like the same thing when found outside of the church. And I will close this writing with some quotations from eminent authors on the evidences of the Christian religion. "Infidelity is a rank weed; it is nurtured by our vices, and it cannot be plucked up as easily as it may be planted."—Watson. "It is not in the power of any person but yourselves to clear up your doubts."—Id. "The most insurmountable as well as the most usual obstacles to our belief arise from our passions, appetites, and interests; for faith being an act of the will as much as of the understanding, we oftener disbelieve for want of inclination than want of evidence."—Jenyns. Do not these writers speak the truth in these quotations? If they do, let doubters and cavilers professing faith take warning. R. F. COTTRELL.