t is a prophecy rather than an immediate
revelation. Still it warrants the expectation of a yet fuller
manifestation. That fuller utterance we have in man himself. There,
spirit reveals itself to spirit; and in the two primary intuitions of
man--self-consciousness and the sense of moral obligation--the presence
of God is disclosed. But, higher still, the long historic evolution
has culminated in a yet clearer manifestation of the Deity. In Christ,
the God-Man, the mystery underlying and brooding over the world is
unveiled, and to the eye of faith is revealed the Fatherhood of God.

The first duty, therefore, we owe to God is that of recognition, the
acknowledgment of His presence in the world. To feel that He is
everywhere, sustaining and vitalising all things; to recognise His will
in all the affairs of our daily life, is at once the duty and
blessedness of man.

(2) _Obedience_ follows acknowledgment. It is partly passive and
partly active.

(_a_) As _passive_, it takes the form of habitual trust or
_acquiescence_, the submissive acceptance of trials which are
ultimately, we believe, not really evils, because ordained by God and
overruled for good.[30] This spirit of obedience can be maintained by
_constant vigilance_ alone.[31] While connected with the anticipated
coming of the Son of Man, the obligation had a more general
application, and may be regarded as the duty of all in the face of the
unknown and unexpected in life. We are therefore to watch for any
intimation of the divine will, and commit ourselves trustfully to the
absolute disposal of Him in whose hands are the issues of our lives.

(_b_) But obedience has also an _active_ side. _Faithfulness_ is the
complement of faith. The believer must exercise fidelity, and go
forward with energy and purpose to the tasks committed to him. As
stewards of Christ we are {217} to occupy till He come, employing every
talent entrusted to us in His service. Work may be worship, and we can
glorify God in our daily tasks. No finer tribute can a man give than
simply himself.

(3) _Worship_.--The special duties of worship belong to the religious
rather than the ethical side of life, and do not demand here more than
a passing reference. The essence of religion lies in the subordination
of the finite self to the infinite; and worship is the conscious
outgoing of the man in his weakness and imperfection to his Maker, and
it attains its fullest exercise in (_a_