Editorial October 27, 1928 Issue

"Thy lovingkindness, O God!"

Duncan Sinclair

Wonderful it is to think that the children of Israel came to understand the loving-kindness of God as they did, came to apprehend in no small degree the fact that God is Love! One has only to study the psalms, those songs of the Hebrews, to notice how strong their conviction of God's loving-kindness had become, and because of it how they were learning to place their trust in His protecting care. "How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings," runs the seventh verse of the thirty-sixth psalm.

Oftentimes in the history of the Jewish people the spiritual light was very dim; sometimes it seemed as if it had gone out altogether. But no! For with the coming of the promised Messiah it burst forth again in great brilliancy. Christ Jesus taught the pure truth about God and His love, and demonstrated what he taught in all manner of healing. And one whom he taught,—the beloved disciple, John,—having proved the Master's doctrine for himself, could in later years declare that "God is love." The great spiritual fact had unmistakably become known to human consciousness, and been registered there, so to speak.

Ever since the days of the early Christian men have striven so to attune themselves to Truth as to realize for themselves that God is Love. But with what doubts have they at times been assailed! How could they reconcile the truth that God is Love with the sorrowful experiences of human existence—its sickness, its sin, its suffering, its poverty? Did not these experiences seem to indicate that there must be something wrong in the statement that God is Love? How often have men reasoned in just this way, reasoned even until they ceased to entertain the thought and found themselves plunged in darkest pessimism!

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

"Thy lovingkindness, O God!"

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access