They Knew Their God

Book excerpt: George Herbert (1593-1632): Poet of the Heavenly Court Miguel Molinos (1627-1696): The Priest Who Knew God Joseph Alleine (1634-1668): A Living Sacrifice at Thirty-four John Fletcher (1729-1785): Apostle of Madeley Mary Fletcher (1739-1815): Shepherdess of Orphans Frederick Oberlin (1740-1826): Benefactor to the Vosges Dwellers Samuel Pollard (1826-1877): He Waited for the Fulfilment of His Vision George Matheson (1842-1906): The Blind Poet Who Saw Too Much Jonathan Goforth (1859-1936): He Suffered the Loss of All Things Rosalind Goforth (1864-1942): She Climbed the Ascents With God Kate Lee (1872-1920): The Angel Adjutant W. Graham Scroggie (1877-1958): The Unusual Keswick Speaker God never repeats Himself in human experience, and it is refreshing to mark these saints as they ventured their all upon God and left us individual histories which enrich the spiritual kingdom by the delightful variety we discover in all God's "other" creations. We do not submit these sketches that they should be imitated in detail as to their search for God, or as to their evidence of that attainment. We pray rather that their faith and courage, in proving and knowing God, might encourage us to realize there is no limit, except in ourselves, to what we might discover of His kingdom while here in "time." Our situation today is much like that which existed in the time of the Judges: "Another generation grew up after them, who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel." (Judges 2:10). Such ignorance in those days issued in God's people doing evil and turning to false religion. This book describes giants of faith---people who did exploits because "they knew their God." Such devotion as we read about shames our shallowness and our failure to make a vacuum for God in the busy materialistic scramble for higher living standards. We have expensive homes and luxury cars but know little of the vast riches and resources available to one who takes time to know and understand. Our ideals are to low, and our zeal so lukewarm, and our stocks of grace so pitifully small that we need to remember great saints who all remind us, we too can make our lives sublime, and departing leave behind us, footprints in the sands of time, as Longfellow wrote: Footprints that perhaps another Sailing o'er life's solemn mane, Some forlorn and shipwrecked brother Reading may take heart again.---from the foreword.