The Song of Solomon : and the Lamentations of Jeremiah

iii.22-4.] THE UNFAILING GOODNESS OF GOD 205
by the soul of the new writer make them his own
in the deepest sense, because under these circum-
stances it is not their literary form, but their spiritual
significance, that gives them their value. This is true
of the most frequently quoted words of Scripture.
They are new words to every soul that adopts them
as the expression of a new experience.
It is to be observed that the experience now reached
is something over and above the conscious reception
of daily mercies. The Giver is greater than His gifts,
God is first known by means of His actions, and then
being thus known He is recognised as Himself the
portion of His people, so that to possess Him is their
one satisfying joy in the present and their one inspiring
hope for the future.