"For there stood by me this night the angel of am, and Whom I serve, saying, Fear

not Paul; brought before Caesar; and 10, God hath given thee sail with thee" (Acts xxvii.

23, 24).

Thus it was that Paul could say, "I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me."

He could exhort these hopeless seamen to be of good cheer, for God had said, "Fear not."

The implicit faith of Paul in the promise of God, "even as it was told me," is seen in his

attitude when later some of the sailors were about to let down a boat and leave the ship.

He said to the centurion, " Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved" (Acts

xxvii. 31). Paul believed the angel of God when he said, "God hath given thee all them

that sail with thee." Paul it was (the landsman, the prisoner) who cheered and advised the

mariners and the soldiers, for faith operates where reason and skill and circumstance fail.

Paul's faith made him reasonable. He exported the panic-stricken crew to take food, "For

there shall not a hair fall from the head of any of you" (Acts xxvii. 34). Paul's faith led to

works, confession, and confirmation :

"And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in the

presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat. Then were they all of

good cheer and they also took some meat" (Acts xxvii. 35, 36).

At length, in spite of the soldiers' murderous counsel, "It carne to pass, that they all

escaped safe to land" (Acts xxvii. 44).

The OT. equivalent emunah, from which we obtain the word Amen, is a derivation

of the word aman, which primarily means to be steady, constant, established. "His hands

were steadied" (Exod. xvii. 12). Pillars or props of a building (2 Kings xviii. 16). The

constant care of a nurse is expressed also by this word in Esther ii. 7. Among the varied

translations we find such expressive words as "faithfulness" (Psa. cxix. 75); "truth" (Deut.

xxxii. 4); "set office" (margin "trust," 1 Chron. ix. 22); "stability" (Isa. xxxiii. 6); "faith"

(Heb. ii. 4).

Faith in the N.T. sense may be described as a threefold cord, (I) A conviction, (2) A

cleaving, (3) A confidence.

The conviction.-This rests upon the acknowledged faithfulness of God (I Pet. i. 21;

iii. 15; 2 Thess. ii. II, 12). The cleaving.--This is the outcome, and a necessary outcome,

for hope and love are only separated from faith in idea, not in experience. The

confidence.- This controls the walk and manner of life. Paul's attitude on the ship just

cited was one of assured confidence. To the O.T. believer, constancy under suffering

necessarily implied faith in God. To" endure, as seeing Him Who is invisible," is said of

one who lived by faith (Heb. xi. 27).

The quotation from Hab. ii. 4.

The subject of N.T. quotation from the O.T. is one of far reaching importance, and

cannot be entered into here. Material is slowly being gathered to show the relation of the

N.T. to the Hebrew and the LXX., but this must be reserved for a separate study. The

quotation of Paul from Hab. ii. 4 differs from the Hebrew considerably, and from the

LXX. in one particular. For the sake of comparison with the quotation in the N.T. we

give the translations from the Hebrew and the LXX.:

" Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him, but the just shall live by

His faith" (Hebrew).

"If any man draw back, My soul hath no pleasure in him; but the just shall live by

My faith" (LXX.).

"As it is written, The just by faith shall live " (Rom. i. 17).

"For, The just by faith shall live " (Gal. Hi. 11).

"Now the just by faith shall live : but if any man draw back, My soul shall have

no pleasure in him" (Heb. x. 38).

It will be seen that the LXX. differs very materially from the Hebrew, but that the

full quotation of the passage in Heb. x. 38 is in entire agreement with the LXX., except

in the omission of the word" My." The Hebrew says" His faith." The LXX. says" My

faith." The apostle simply says " faith."