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himself. And with that the inner light might seem to withdraw itself: the God of his trust seemed to fail him. Things were too much for him. He longed for some assurance, some vision. 'Oh that I knew where I might find Him! that I might come even to His seat! … I go forward, but He is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive Him: on the left hand, where He doth work, but I cannot behold Him: He hideth Himself on the right hand, that I cannot see Him.' He was brought to cry, 'My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?' Yet the faith held on, and emerged, and shone, for in it was the strength of God.
What is our case? The same, and not the same. Not the same, for 'the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.' He has come who has shown us the Father, has declared to us His name. The God so long believed in has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of His own glory in the face of Jesus Christ. To a world which sat in darkness and the shadow of death, light, the light of life, has sprung up. Conscience has met its answer, and death has yielded to the purer glory of the resurrection. The righteousness and judgement of the Psalmist's faith have, as it were, opened out to us its inner heart, and we know that God is love. Thankless indeed we are if we ever forget the difference so made.
