"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him"
(Matt. 17:5).
Hear Him." This is the message which in some form is given to men who fear as they enter the cloud. Out of every cloud which shall fall over men, on their knowledge, or faith, or understanding of God's will, or interpretation of His ways, there comes this one word, "Hear Him." When God's being has become dim and uncertain, and the cloud of doubt so overshadows your heart that you cannot pray, hear Him who calls, "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." When God's character seems dark and unlovely, and your heart rebels against some grim word which has been taught you by men who have not considered God's great mind, and the cloud overshadows you, hear Him who saith, "He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil." When God's providence seems estranged, and the cloud has fallen upon your daily life, and all that makes it gracious has been taken away hear Him who saith, "If God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" If the will of God seems hard and stern and bids you pass through a baptism, until you find the cloud upon your spirit and you lie under its fear, hear Him who saith, "I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done to you." Whatever cloud you enter, the cloud of guilty conscience, of a chilled faith, of a searching loneliness, as you fear, hear Him who has a word f or every hour. In time to come, if not while trembling under the shadow, you will learn the significance of the cloud, the fear, and the voice.
