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Unknown, unknowable — truly; yet not on that account unusable and unprofitable. That is a vital distinction. The master of science humbly avows that he has not a theory of magnetism; does he, therefore, ignore it, or decline to inquire into its uses? Does he reverently write its name with a big M, and run away from it, shaken and whitened by a great fear? Verily, he is no such fool. He actually uses what he does not understand. I will accept his example, and bring it to bear upon the religious life. I do not, scientifically, know God; the solemn term does not come within the analysis which is available to me; God is great, and I know Him not; yet the term has its practical uses in life, and into those broad and obvious uses all men may inquire. What part does the God of the Bible play in the life of the man who accepts Him and obeys Him with all the inspiration and diligence of love? Any creed that does not Come down easily into the daily life to purify and direct it, is. by so much, imperfect and useless. I cannot read the Bible without seeing that God (as there revealed) ever moved His believers in the direction of courage and sacrifice. These two terms are multitudinous, involving others of kindred quality, and spreading themselves over the whole space of the upper life. In the direction of courage — not mere animal courage, for then the argument might be matched by gods many, yet still gods, though their names be spelt without capitals; but moral courage, noble heroism, fierce rebuke of personal and national corruption, sublime and pathetic judgment of all good and all evil. The God-idea made mean men valiant soldier-prophets; it broadened the piping voice of the timid inquirer into the thunder of the national teacher and leader; for brass it brought gold; and for iron, silver; and for wood, brass; and for stones, iron; instead of the thorn it brought up the fir tree, and instead of the brier the myrtle tree, and it made the bush burn with fire. Wherever the God-idea took complete possession of the mind, every faculty was lifted up to a new capacity, and borne on to heroic attempts and conquests. The saints who received it "subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire; out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens." Any idea that so inspired in man life and hope, is to be examined with reverent care. The quality of the courage determines its value and the value of the idea which excited and sustained it. What is true of the courage is true also of the sacrifice which has ever followed the acceptance of the God-idea. Not the showy and fanatical sacrifice of mere blood letting: many a Juggernaut, great and small, drinks the blood of his devotees; but spiritual discipline, self-renunciation, the esteeming of others better than one's self, such a suppression of the self-thought as to amount to an obliteration of every motive and purpose that can be measured by any single personality — such are the practical uses of the God-idea. It is not a barren sentiment. It is not a coloured vapour or a scented incense, lulling the brain into partial stupor or agitating it with mocking dreams; it arouses courage; it necessitates self-sacrifice; it touches the imagination as with fire; it gives a wide and solemn outlook to the whole nature; it gives a deeper tone to every thought; it sanctifies the universe; it makes heaven possible. Unknown — unknowable! Yes; but not therefore unusable or unprofitable. Say this God was dreamed by human genius. Be it so. Make Him a creature of fancy. What then? The man who made, or dreamed, or otherwise projected such a God, must be the author of some other Work of equal or approximate importance. Produce it! That is the sensible reply to so bold a blasphemy. Singular if man has made a Jehovah, and then has taken to the drudgery of making oil paintings and ink poems, and huts to live in. Where is the congruity? A man says he kindled the sun, and when asked for his proof, he strikes a match which the wind blows out! Is the evidence sufficient? Or a man says that he has covered the earth with all the green and gold of summer, and when challenged to prove it, he produces a wax flower which melts in his hands! Is the proof convincing? The God of the Bible calls for the production of other gods — gods wooden, gods stony, gods ill-bred, gods well shaped, and done up skilfully for market uses: from His heavens He laughs at them, and from His high throne He holds them in derision. He is not afraid of competitive gods. They try to climb to His sublimity, and only get high enough to break their necks in a sharp fall. Again and again I demand that the second effort of human genius bear some obvious relation to the first. The sculptor accepts the challenge, so does the painter, so does the musician — why should the Jehovah-dreamer be an exception to the common rule of confirmation and proof? We wait for the evidence. We insist upon having it; and that we may not waste our time in idle expectancy, we will meanwhile call upon God, saying, "Our leather which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is done in heaven."

(Joseph Parker, D. D.)

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KJV: Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither can the number of his years be searched out.

WEB: Behold, God is great, and we don't know him. The number of his years is unsearchable.