I was reading a book only the other day
which contained a story that comes in here. An Arctic expedition, some
years ago, found an ammunition chest that Commander Parry had left fifty
years ago, safe under a pile of stones. The wood of the chest had not
rotted yet; the provisions inside of it were perfectly sweet, and good,
and eatable. There it had lain all those years. Men had died of
starvation within arm's length of it. It was there all the same. And
so, if I might venture to vulgarise the great theme that I try to speak
about, God has given us His Son, and in Him, all that pertains to life
and all that pertains to godliness. My brother, take the things that are
freely given to you of God.

And so that leads me to one last word, and it shall only be a word, in
regard to what our text tells us of the way by which on our side we can
yield to this Divine call, and receive this Divine fulness of gifts,
through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory. Through the
knowledge! Yes, well there are two kinds of knowledge, are there not?
There is the knowledge by which you know a book, for instance, on the
subject of study, and there is the knowledge by which you know one
another; and the kind of thing I mean when I say, 'I know mathematics,'
is entirely different to what I mean when I say, 'I know John, Thomas,'
or whoever he may be. And I venture to say that the knowledge, which is
the condition of receiving the whole fulness of the glory and the whole
fulness of the light, is a great deal more like the thing we mean when
we talk of knowing one another than when we talk of knowing a book. That
is to say, a man may have all the creeds and confessions of faith clear
in his head, and yet none of the life, none of the light, none of the
power, and none of the godliness. But if we know Him as our brother,
know Him as our friend, our sacrifice, our Redeemer, Lord, all in all;
know Him as our heaven, our righteousness, and our strength; if we know
Him with the knowledge which is possession; if we know Him with the
knowledge which, as the profoundest of the Apostles says, 'hath the
truth in life'; if we know Him, see then, 'This is life eternal, to
know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.'

Now, friends, my words are done. God is calling you. No, let us put it a
little more definitely than that--God is calling _thee_. There is no
speech nor language where His voice is not heard. His words are go