I Believe in God. (Pasche)
"Fear not: I am thy Shield and thy exceeding great Reward." Genesis 15:1
When a thinking man contemplates the universe, a voice within him says, “ God made all.” When he thinks of the beginning of all things, he imagines God as existing before the world began, and the voice within him says, “ The eternal God made it.” When he marvels at the magnitude of the world and its powerful forces, the voice says, “ The almighty God made it.” When he sees sun, moon, and stars circle around the earth, the perfect workmanship in this vast machinery, the marvelous works all about him, the wonderful adaptation of means to ends, the artistry manifested in nature, the masterly construction of all creation, the voice says, “The wise God made it all.” And when man enjoys sunshine and rain from heaven, fruitful seasons and plentiful crops, he concludes that the invisible God is good. The works of creation speak an unmistakable language, a language which every intelligent man can understand, and he is constrained to admit that there is a God.
Here, however, man has reached the bounds of what, by nature, may be known of God. Unenlightened, natural man is able to see and understand that God created heaven and earth and all that is therein, and that the earth is full of His riches, and he also feels the duty of service to God; but his conception of this duty, as well as his performance of it, is far from being sufficient to make him acceptable with God. This natural knowledge of God is utterly inadequate to save him, and if he had no other knowledge of Him, he could do no more, after all, than build an altar to the “unknown God.” How we can be saved, God has revealed in the Scriptures. From this Book of Life, and from it alone, we obtain a saving knowledge of God. From the Bible we learn that God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Prayer.
O Thou most high God, we thank Thee that Thou hast revealed Thyself not only by means of Thy wonderful works, but chiefly through Thy holy Word, from which we may know Thee and Thy Son Jesus Christ and thus have eternal life. We thank Thee that Thou hast brought us to the knowledge of the truth as it is revealed in Thy dear Son, our Lord and Savior. Keep us steadfast in the faith, that we may receive our souls’ salvation and praise Thee for all Thy mercy throughout eternity. Amen.
