ain them? It
is not enough to say simply, "It was genius." What then is genius? Could
it be that a genius is a man haunted by the speaking Voice, laboring and
striving like one possessed to achieve ends which he only vaguely
understands? That the great man may have missed God in his labors, that
he may even have spoken or written against God does not destroy the idea
I am advancing. God's redemptive revelation in the Holy Scriptures is
necessary to saving faith and peace with God. Faith in a risen Saviour
is necessary if the vague stirrings toward immortality are to bring us
to restful and satisfying communion with God. To me this is a plausible
explanation of all that is best out of Christ. But you can be a good
Christian and not accept my thesis.

The Voice of God is a friendly Voice. No one need fear to listen to it
unless he has already made up his mind to resist it. The blood of Jesus
has covered not only the human race but all creation as well. "And
having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile
all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth,
or things in heaven." We may safely preach a friendly Heaven. The
heavens as well as the earth are filled with the good will of Him that
dwelt in the bush. The perfect blood of atonement secures this forever.

Whoever will listen will hear the speaking Heaven. This is definitely
not the hour when men take kindly to an exhortation to _listen_, for
listening is not today a part of popular religion. We are at the
opposite end of the pole from there. Religion has accepted the monstrous
heresy that noise, size, activity and bluster make a man dear to God.
But we may take heart. To a people caught in the tempest of the last
great conflict God says, "Be still, and know that I am God," and still
He says it, as if He means to tell us that our strength and safety lie
not in noise but in silence.

It is important that we get still to wait on God. And it is best that we
get alone, preferably with our Bible outspread before us. Then if we
will we may draw near to God and begin to hear Him speak to us in our
hearts. I think for the average person the progression will be something
like this: First a sound as of a Presence walking in the garden. Then a
voice, more intelligible, but still far from clear. Then the happy
moment when the Spirit begins to illuminate the Scriptures, and that
which had been only a sound, or at best a voice, now beco