se, but our knowledge does not extend
to the manner in which the universe came into being. That is a matter of
belief. "Through faith"--not by ocular or logical proof, but on
testimony--"we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of
God."[011]

Faith differs from opinion. When a man believes his mind is made up. By
whatever process it may have been reached, the conclusion commends
itself as one that is fixed and irreversible. Opinion, on the other
hand, is held loosely. It is based not on certainty but on probability.
The possibility of error is recognised, and the opinion is readily
surrendered when the grounds on which it was formed are seen to be
insufficient or misleading. "A man," says Coleridge, "having seen a
million moss roses all red, concludes from his own experience and that
of others that all moss roses are red. That is a maxim with him--the
_greatest_ amount of his knowledge upon the subject. But it is only
true until some gardener has produced a white moss rose,--after which
the maxim is good for nothing."[012]

The testimony on which faith rests is human or Divine. It is human in so
far as it is based on human experience and observation. It is Divine in
so far as it rests upon the direct revelation of God. Faith in man is
continually exercised in business and in all the departments of life. It
is necessary to the very existence of society. Faith in God moves in
another sphere. Its objects are not seen or temporal, and they do not
rest for proof upon the testimony of man. It receives and assents to
statements which are made on the authority of God, who knows all things,
who therefore cannot be deceived, and who is truth and therefore cannot
deceive us. On this Divine rock of faith, and not upon her own
knowledge, the Christian Church rests. "If we receive the witness of
men, the witness of God is greater."[013] Among Christian virtues faith
stands first. It must precede everything else. It is the foundation on
which all Christian character and life are built. "He that cometh unto
God must believe that he is."[014] "Without faith it is impossible to
please God."[015]

That which Christian faith realises and grasps is expressed in doctrine.
Faith is not a separate and self-dependent grace. Its existence and
growth arise from those things which are believed, and therefore it is
necessary to study and understand, as far as we can, the doctrines of
the Christian faith before we can possess or mani