_MOUTH AND MATTER_
"_Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth._"
--EXODUS iv. 10-17.
And what a promise that is for anyone who is commissioned to proclaim the
King's decrees. Here can teachers and preachers find their strength. God
will be with their mouths. He will control their speech, and order their
words like troops. He does not promise to make us eloquent, but to endow
our words with the "demonstration of power."
"_And I will teach thee what thou shall say._" The Lord will not only be
with our mouths, but with our minds. He will guide our thoughts as well as
our words. He will be as sentinel at the lips. He will be our guide in our
processes of meditation and judgment, and He will bring us to enlightened
ends. All of which is just this: He will give us mouth and matter.
This does not put a premium upon idleness. The Lord guides when men are
honestly groping. He gives us fire when we have built the altar. He works
His miracle when we have provided the five loaves. He sends His light
through diligent thinking. The divine power is given through the
consecrated strength.