FAITH, NOT HABIT

FAITH, NOT HABIT

“Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out” (Song of Songs 4: 16). The north wind is the trying circumstances, and the south wind the pleasing ones. They are the very opposite, and their combined action causes the spices to flow out. The reality of faith is proved, not by one set of circumstances, but by many and opposite ones. A man might prepare himself for the north wind, as sheep by their fleeces are prepared for the winter, or by having them shorn off for the summer. This is habituating oneself to one’s circumstances, and no ^[p. 286] exercise of faith. Faith counts on God, and not on preparation. It is like the limestone, that absorbs the moisture in wet weather. In the day of supply it treasures up strength, and does not allow it to be evaporated; and therefore, in the day of drought, or of the north wind, it possesses its own resources, and gives forth the treasured moisture. It is not habit that is to sustain you, but, “the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4: 14). Then you have learned how to abase, and how to abound; you are not overwhelmed by the one, nor over-elated by the other; but you go through circumstances evenly, and the spices flow out, through the grace given to you.