himself from the frightened Israelites in the thick cloud and fire upon the Mount. The concealment was greater than the revelation in the cloud, the fire and the smoke. The sacred precinct of the Holy of Holies was a concealment as well as a revelation of God. Probably the clearest illustration of this element of concealment, as well as of revelation, is seen in the typical example of Moses when he asked, as a special favor, that he might see God's glory. We are told that God talked with Moses mouth to mouth. In the familiar intercourse of this man of God with God himself he said, "I pray thee, show me thy glory." The answer was, "Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man see me and live." But hiding him in the cleft of the rock God gave him a partial disclosure of himself, doubtless as much as it was possible for him to endure.

We have another striking illustration of the same truth in the experience and testimony of the apostle Paul. In a time of intense spiritual ecstasy the apostle Paul was caught up into the third heaven and heard words which it was not lawful for a man to utter. In that disclosure of the glory of God he heard words which were unspeakable. And so, in accordance with this experience, he wrote to Timothy, "God dwelleth in light which no man can approach, whom no man hath seen nor can see." (I Tim., 6:10.)

1. Concealment is a necessary antecedent of revelation. The infinite cannot communicate himself to the finite except in a limited way. The whole of the infinite cannot come into manifestation. In accordance with this truth the Scriptures everywhere make a distinction between what may be known of God, on the one hand, and his hidden, incomprehensible essence on the other. "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God." In the very attempt to reveal himself God must put him

self under limitations in order that there may be a manifestation. We may illustrate this by material things and by material vision. Suppose you should attempt to examine the sun at mid-day when the air is clear and the sky is bright. The natural eye cannot look upon the sun at mid-day. The very glory of its brightness dazzles the eye and prevents vision. And so when you call to your aid the telescope, there must be in the telescope a colored glass to absorb the brightness or you cannot look upon it. But by limiting the brightness you can bring it within the power of human vision. There must be, to a certain extent, an obscuration, a limitation of the sun's effulgence before the human eye can appropriate it as an object of sight. It is just so with the glory of God. There must be an obscuration, a limitation of that glory before it can be brought within the field of human vision. That is to say there must be concealment in order to be manifestation. "The secret things belong to the Lord our God." They must belong to him, otherwise there could be no revelation of him. When you conceal the glory of the sun you can learn a great deal about it. But if you should attempt to study it unconcealed, you simply blind your own eyes. This self-concealment of God is not, therefore, arbitrary but necessary in order that there may be revelation. People make a great mistake, therefore, when they complain about the mysteries of God. If there were no mysteries there could be no knowledge. By concealment there is manifestation; with secrets there is revelation; with mystery there is knowledge. We ought really to thank God that it is his glory to conceal a matter, for in the concealment of his glory there is a revelation of his character. Just as when the glory of the natural sun is concealed the astronomer can examine and determine its constituent elements.

Now this element of concealment which is an aspect of the divine nature in relation to men, manifests itself also in his works and in his dealings with his creatures. Concealment is one of the chief characteristics of nature. The elements and forces of nature are exactly the same to-day that they were six thousand years ago. With all the discoveries and the experience of the ages past, with all the marvelous advancement of the present age, it may still be fairly said that nature contains many secrets that have not been disclosed to the human mind. This element of concealment in nature has been the chief incentive to scientific investigation and discovery. It is true here just as in relation to knowledge of God himself, if there were no mystery there could be no science. Moreover, there seems to be a limit set to human knowledge, even in the realm of nature. Men can advance along the line of research and knowledge until they reach a certain limit where the Almighty seems to have drawn a curtain and inscribed upon it as a notice to the human mind, "Thus far shalt thou come and no further." Unless we are prepared to assert a larger knowledge of nature than now seems possible, we may say that nature conceals continually more than she reveals.

The same element of concealment is evident in the

divine government. Even after all that has been revealed, we may still say when we contemplate the administration of the divine government that clouds and darkness are round about him. Unsolved problems meet us on every hand. Whether we look out upon the world and contemplate the divine government in its whole sweep with relation to the human race, or look upon it in its narrower circle of relation to our individual or family life, we are compelled to say with Cowper,

"God moves in a mysterious way

His wonders to perform."

He rides upon the storm which crosses our pathway, and when it beats us down and we are crushed, our only consolation is that "some day, somewhere we'll understand." There are here many secret things which belong unto the Lord our God. The apostle Paul expressed not only his own conviction but a truth for all time when he said, "Now we see through a glass darkly, now I know in part." This is only the childhood of our eternal years. The immaturity of childhood cannot understand the maturity of manhood.

2. But with all this concealment there is also, and because of the concealment, abundant revelation. "Those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever." God has concealed his essence and his glory in order that he might reveal to men his character and his attitude towards his sinful children. In considering any revelation which God has made it must be conceded, first of all, that it must be adapted to the fallen condition of mankind. How God might have revealed himself, had man maintained his original condition of uprightness and holiness, is not for us now a practical question. There can be no questioning the fact that with sin there came a dulness of spiritual apprehension, which added to the difficulty of the divine communication to the human mind. It is not worth our while now to discuss how God might have revealed himself to mankind in a state of absolute innocence. It is now a question of fact as to the method by which he does reveal himself.

This revelation of God is now of two kinds. The first we may call the natural and the other the supernatural. The natural is the revelation of God through