THE TEACHINGS OF THE BIBLE 245 



carried by one of them, but not by the other." So 

 with God's laws. Many seem to look upon them as a 

 hindrance and limitation to him in carrying out his 

 righteous and loving will toward man. But they are 

 really the modes or means of his working, which he 

 uses with such regularity and consistency that we 

 can always rely upon them and him. The pure river 

 of the water of life proceedeth from the throne of God 

 and of the Lamb. 



If I am lying ill waiting anxiously for the physician 

 I can think of this great city as a mass of blocks of 

 houses separating him from me. But the houses 

 have been arranged in blocks so as to leave free streets, 

 along which he can travel the more quickly. And 

 God's laws are not blocks, but thoroughfares, planned 

 that the angels of his mercy may fly swiftly to our aid. 

 We are prone to forget that these laws are expressly 

 made for your and my benefit, as well as that of all 

 beings, that we may be righteous and unselfish. And 

 this is one ground of the apostle's faith that " all 

 things work together for good to them that love God." 

 And in the Apocalypse the earth helps the woman. 

 It must be so. 



But what if you or I try to block the thoroughfare ? 

 "What would happen to us if we tried to stop bare- 

 handed the current of a huge dynamo, or to hold back 

 the torrent of Niagara ? Nothing but death can 

 result. And what if I stem myself against the " river 

 of the water of life, proceeding from the throne of 

 God," and try to turn it aside or hold it back from 

 men perishing of thirst ? And that is just what sin 

 is, even if done carelessly or thoughtlessly ; for men 

 have no right to be careless and thoughtless about 



