"We are torn in twain by our two natures, namely, our own judgment and our faith, and the result must be inconsistent work. How can it be otherwise? In appearance the Bible is inconsistent, and so must we be who fulfil it. The only consolation is to fall back on the text, 'Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.'"
And again on the 6th October 1878:—
"You cannot evade it: we are each composed of two beings—one of which we see, which is temporal, which will fulfil certain works in the world; and one unseen, eternal, and which is always in conformity with God. One is sometimes uppermost, sometimes subdued, but rules in the long run, for it is eternal, while the other is temporal."
Gordon was a remarkable instance of the truth of the text, "The people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits," a truth which is as applicable to individuals as it is to nations. Gifted by nature with a strong character, its strength was greatly developed by the way in which he came into personal contact with God in the study of His Word. He yielded no slavish subservience to any Church or priest, however good, but tested all doctrines by the unerring standard of God's truth. "Take the Holy Spirit," he used to say, "for your teacher, and you will never want another word from man on questions of doctrine." He never shrank from facing difficulties, or new theories, as some do who are not quite sure of the ground on which they stand, but would ask all who propounded novel doctrines for chapter and verse for their authority. When difficulties arose, he used to treat them as that great scholar, the late Dean Alford did, as shown in the following words: "I find difficulties in the Bible as well as others, but I am so convinced of the general truth of that sacred volume as a whole, that I can easily afford to suspend my judgment on those matters which for some purpose perhaps God has not permitted me to understand."
The Bible was to Gordon a living oracle, to which he used to apply at all times. Here are extracts from two of his letters showing how he regarded it:—
"Out of commiseration for our dual condition, God has given us an oracle which will answer any question, advise, instruct, and guide us; now this oracle must be His voice, for, if not, it would not be His word. He has in His infinite wisdom incarnated His voice in the Scriptures; His voice is to be understood by the highest or lowest intellect; it gives answers, &c., through all time. To the carnal man it is an ordinary book, to the spiritual man it is alive and makes alive."
"Whether we may apprehend it or not, the Scripture contains the mind of Christ, and is, when illuminated with the Spirit, as if Christ was ever talking to us. Now, we should think that if Christ was ever near to talk with us, that should suffice us, and consequently, as I believe that in theory, I try to realise it in practice."
Knowing the high value that Gordon placed on the Word of God, we shall not be surprised to hear that he took intense pains to study the sacred volume. He incidentally mentions that one page of his Bible had been so worn by use that he could hardly read the words. The energy and thoroughness ever evinced in his professional duties, he also practised in the earnest search for God's truths. He used to apply the text, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread," to the soul as well as to the body, to the living Bread of Life as well as to the bread that sustains physical life. At one time he devoted a great deal of time to studying the book of Revelation, although he admitted that it was the most difficult book in the Bible to understand. He did not profess to understand it all, but he used to quote that saying of Dr. Mackie's, "The blessing to be looked for does not come by comprehension, but by the reading of the revelation God has given us in His Word, Rev. i. 3." But though he read and studied his Bible as earnestly as he would any other book, he never forgot the fact that only the Holy Spirit can teach us the truths contained in it.
"We can see the history of the Bible, and may understand it, but we forget that we are blind to its secret mysteries, unless God shows them to us; our Saviour says, 'Unto you it is given.' Only the Spirit in man finds God."
He contended, moreover, that there could be but little benefit from a mere theoretical study of the Bible, and that consequently the best school in which to learn the sacred truths it contained was that of the discipline of life.