Fri.-Sabbath, 2/10-12/17 Devotion

Yippee—it is almost Sunday. We *get* to go back to church. Here is Thomas Watson, from his, "A Body of Divinity" book. He is discussing the Being of God here. . . .

"Seeing there is a God, let us firmly believe this great article of our Creed. What religion can there be in men, if they do not believe a Deity? 'He that comes to God must believe that He is.’ To worship God, and pray to Him, and not believe there is a God, is to put a high scorn and contempt upon Him. Be-lieve that God is the only true God: such a God as He has revealed Himself in His Word, 'A lover of righteousness, and hater of wickedness,’ (Psa 45:7). The real belief of a Deity gives life to all religious worship. The more we be-lieve the truth and infiniteness of God the more holy and angelic we are in our lives. Whether we are alone, or in company, God sees us; He is the heart-searcher. The belief of this would make us live always under God's eye—Psa 16:10: 'I have set the Lord always before me.’

"The belief of a Deity would be a bridle to sin, and a spur to duty; it would add wings to prayer, and oil to the lamp of our devotion. The belief of a Deity would cause dependence upon God in all our [trials] and exigencies—Gen 17:1: 'I am God all-sufficient’—a God that can supply all your wants, scatter all your fears, resolve all your doubts, conquer all your temptations. The arm of God's power can never be shrunk; He can create mercy for us, and there-fore can help, and not be beholden to the creature. Did we believe there is a God, we should so depend on His providence as not to use any indirect means. We should not run ourselves into sin to rid ourselves out of trou-
ble. . . . When men run to sinful shifts, is it not because they do not believe there is a God, or that He is all-sufficient?"