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Pipe A Ria Fee Sain, SPS tee eh € ee, fe ae co ees Wa ; eat i ee - ae aod 7 ? = a ae $ - : ~~ ie re ae ee en. nes : — - - 2 " mg - a Pane x eclbat! ee ad > wet = ia - : rn - an ; ; SN er or A ene ne . Fag. Ae perenne piel ler! ‘ a ee = 5 I ita en a SSR a Pa a ONG a aD ee ye SEG a pi AIS Soiree se; eter & ~ = : sreiSSan na - eben: orale , =. — ei i AO He gs SO IY = a Bil Sas ee = Sa, an ht on “ -_ - - to ~~. - ae oe pa aiel a ee a ne ate TT a ats “ oe Pay eae Noone Ree ee a er fm oe a a cam a ane On Th ig I a a ge ae ee ama Cle Fat vie po |) eT oe one Libvary of The Theological Boga PRINCETON +: NEW JERSEY CSP: PRESENTED BY BT 121 .D86 1857 Dunn, Henry, 1800-1878. DPnerSpinit of tretn 7, | yy ) ~ Al oS wy “The Spirit of 2eack” A Supplement to ‘The Comforter” or Joy in the Holy Ghost By Delta Hens LAAT igs pa London Hamilton Adams and Co James Nisbet and Co 1857 : om ’ ae) * | AG BAAS, ‘ere ey - . os ‘ y Ste Ci * Se 7? sbibat : CONTENTS. ——< Page INTRODUCTORY . : Brey S| CHAPTER I. Tue CoMPLAINT. : i ; Ration‘ j II. Taz Uncrion or tHe Hoty One. ieee III. Criricism anD CONTROVERSY. : ar IV. Ozsrctive Truta AND INNER LIFE meat bs VY. Tue CHURCH AND THE WoRLD ., . 153 iMReL Bee hs a = “4 4 ; ba = “age eae Tea 4 ee Introdvuctory. “Read not to contradict and confute, nor to believe and take for granted, nor to find talk and discourse, but to weigh and consider.’—Lord Bacon. vrei + Zz A SP ta te | ¢ -, “aS ‘ vr 4 i. s j Mes yi RY ph ; FE ee Ae Ce a ol , _% we i * ee Tr . ee a alt: INTRODUCTORY. HOSE who have taken the trouble to read carefully the little book which this is in- tended to supplement, will scarcely have failed to perceive that the young man there introduced, was regarded as a type of anume- rous and increasing class in this country, —a class, who may be described, religiously, as being at once devout and restless—in- fluenced in their daily life by a strong sense of Christian Duty, but uncheered by any- thing worthy of the name of Christian Joy. Longing for something more in Chris- tianity than he has yet experienced, weakened 12 INTRODUCTORY. by doubt, wearied by constant struggles with evil, and unhappy whenever he comes in contact with books or men that shake his hereditary faith, the inquirer is represented as vainly wishing for the personal presence of the Redeemer, that he may have the op- portunity of direct appeal, and live in that atmosphere of gladness which he thinks must be inseparable from His presence. The remedy suggested as most likely to alleviate, if not to heal, this tendency to sad- ness and discomfort is, a more definite and abiding realization of the Saviour’s last words to his disciples,—“It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” Objections of various kinds are then an- swered, and the doctrine maintained that, in sending “the Comforter,” Christ designed to ‘impart to his children a blessing, which should more than compensate for his own absence. But, to do this, it must of necessity be 2 INTRODUCTORY. 138 Person, and Divine; for neither influences nor angels can supply the place of a risen Saviour. The soul that has once known God, can never be satisfied’ with anything short of God. The assertion was then hazarded, that the Holy Spirit, an this his New Testament and peculiar character, as “the Comforter,” dwell- ing in the heart, and filling the soul of the believer with joy and peace, is not, as a matter of fact, enjoyed by all Christians ; that such a Divine gift, although imseparable from the higher developments of the Christian character, is not essential to that mere sense of safety which is too often regarded as the end of religion; that, although freely offered to all, it has, unhappily, frequently to be gained long after conversion; and that it may be lost without involving the ruin of the soul. | The nature of Christian joy, as the fruit of the indwelling Spirit, was then illustrated, by reference to the experiences of the early churches ; and its necessity insisted upon, as B 2 14 INTRODUCTORY. a counterbalance to those elements of sadness, which belong to Christianity as distinguished from Judaism. The duty and privilege involved in seeking and obtaining this conscious’ intercourse with the Father and the Son, through the Spirit, was subsequently urged; sin and folly being regarded as the only hindrances to its reception. In the course of these conversations, ques- tions arose as to the way in which the Holy 1 As some misapprehension has been occasioned by the use of the term “ conscious,” it may be as well to remind the reader that, in the little book referred to, the action of the Holy Spirit on man was distinctly regarded as moral only (pp. 62—74), and that, consequently, all sensible impressions were necessarily excluded. The believer is conscious of communion with God, only when, in answer to prayer, he finds himself im sympathy with the Divine character,—full of love to God and man,—confiding in his Heavenly Father,—calm, peaceful, assured,—free from doubt,—desiring, and not despairing of entire conformity to His holy will. Surely it is not a rare thing—although, certainly, not co-extensive with the reception of the Gospel—for Christians, at times (p. 92), to be conscious of this oneness with Christ through “‘ the Comforter.” INTRODUCTORY. 45 Spirit may be said to enlighten the believer ; and great importance was attached to a full recognition of the fact,—however much op- posed to ordinary notions,—that the action of the Spirit of God on man, when not ex- ercised miraculously, as at the planting of the Christian Church, and as in the case of the apostles and inspired writers of Scrip- ture, is on the moral nature only, and never directly on the intellect; that the Holy Ghost enlightens, not by a process of ad- dition, but rather by one of subtraction— not by giving to the intellect any light or power of which it would otherwise be de- prived, but by removing moral obstacles’ to its free and healthy action. 1 That the slightest bias may, without any conscious volition, influence practical conclusions, even in physical science, is curiously illustrated by the fact, that analytical chemists, at moments when experiment is appealed to, for the confirmation or otherwise of a supposition all but demonstrated, will not trust themselves to hold their scales, lest desire for a particular result should in the slightest degree affect the truthfulness of the balance; they place the scales in the hands of an uninterested assistant. 16 INTRODUCTORY. The contrary view, although generally maintained, was held to destroy all tangible ‘distinctions between inspired and uninspired | communications; to favour mysticism;' to lower the authority of the written word ; and to justify fanatical interpretations both of Scripture and Providence. A difficulty, not realized till the conversa- tions had terminated, is, however, supposed still to remain on the mind of the objector. Stripped, as he imagines himself to be, by the process of reasoning adopted, of all de- pendence on Church authority on the one hand, and of all reliance on the direct teach- ing of the Spirit to himself on the other, he naturally asks, How he is to distinguish truth from error, so as to attain to that mental repose without which “peace in be- lieving ”’ is impossible ? The following pages are intended to fur- nish a reply. . Mysticism generally is “that form of error which mistakes for a Divine manifestation the operations of a merely human faculty.”—Howrs with the Mystics. Che Complaint. APOSTOLIC BLESSING. “The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”—Romans xv. 13. MODERN EXPERIENCE. “ Joy and glorying seem. to belong to that circle of Christian graces—of which hope is the centre—which have almost vanished in the phraseology of modern times.” —Jowett. omer iat | i] \ yi feo ii iar EN oie i mF nah Pim amet : vib 16E1S Ni aa Mes ye nike can enpan is Ra eye a bate!” te 2 NOMA sours «pli ee mY Far fe ‘fn yitionee Bae a cae his Sevag tend ed en id Fai wn eh iden tie iat beaten. oe wh 8 ef Bae Ae Fis a Hane iowa : . re: re pet he fhe’ La Srisit te mee ly rh ts CHAPTER f. A DEEP sigh escaped him as he closed the book. “T do not wonder,” he said, “that men are found so willing to accept the pretensions of a supposed infallible church. Any con- dition seems preferable to that of perpetual uncertainty. Existence itself becomes a bur- den, under the sickness which is produced by continual tossing on the great sea of doubt.” “And yet,” he added, as if suddenly re- collecting himself, “without this suffering, new worlds of thought can never be dis- covered. Why, then, should I complain? 20 THE COMPLAINT. I am but uttering the inarticulate cry of humanity in all ages for guidance ; and, like the men of past times, I must be content to hear, as a response, the echo of my own com- plainings. Better, far better, to listen even to that, than to men who meet this hunger- ing for “ bread,’”’ with the offer of “a stone” and “aserpent”’?! Better to have the sor- rows of liberty, with its infinite disagree- ments, its blunders of all sizes, its discords and confusions, its ill-will and endless strife, than to rest in that huge system of priestly imposture, which has never yet brought forth anything better than tyranny, blasphemy, and pride! Why, then, should I desire to evade that kind of discipline, which, is ob- viously to me, the most necessary, the most painful, the most testing? Rather let me give myself to prayer, if haply I may attain to that moral condition, in the light of which, the eternal distinctions between truth and error are clearly seen, and sthe respective provinces of reason and of faith found per- fectly to harmonize. THE COMPLAINT. a: The speaker was a young man, intelligent and devout; one, with whom some of us have already formed acquaintance, and whose interest in divine truth had certainly been quickened by the conversations to which we have already alluded. Before him lay some recent publications,’ which he had evidently been perusing with no ordinary interest; and he now stood in their presence, pained and perplexed. The friend, who had before sought to soothe his restless spirit, was again sitting by, and had listened, with his usual quiet smile, to thoughts which he saw had, almost unconsciously, clothed themselves in words. How often is it thus! Even in solitude, how frequently have we to exclaim, with David, “ While I was nwising the fire burned: then spake I with my tongue.” “T do not know,” he said, “that I ma- terially differ from you as to the pains and 1 Various works on the Inspiration of the Scriptures, on Sacrifice, and on the Atonement; Critical Expositions . of the Epistles; Theological Essays, &c. 8 22, THE COMPLAINT. dangers which attend mental independence. Of the latter.—the moral dangers,—I have probably a more lively apprehension than yourself, for I have witnessed more ship- wrecks. Still, I have never thought it right, under any circumstances, to discourage the utmost freedom of inquiry; for of this I am well assured, that where one loses his way, and becomes bewildered or lost, amid the thickets of theological speculation, hundreds fall asleep in the beaten road, and literally die of cold. If a restless spirit is sometimes proud and wilful, an indolent one is as fre- quently zntensely selfish. There is great force in Coleridge’s remark, that “ He who begins by loving Christianity better than truth, will proceed by loving his own sect or church better than Christianity, and end in loving himself better than all.’’? ' 1 “ Aids to Reflection,” Aph. xxy. “It is well worthy of especial observation, that the Scriptures are dis- tinguished from all other writings pretending to inspira- tion, by strong and frequent recommendations of knowledge and a spirit of inquiry.”—Coleridge. THE COMPLAINT. 2a “And yet,” replied the other, “ when in- dulged, this supreme love of truth always seems practically to end either in scepticism or schism. How is it, that so good a tree should bring forth such evil fruit? It really often appears to me, to be a great blessing that the independent thinkers are so few. Can it be, that an indolent and unreasoning acquiescence in the word of God, is better than the devout and intelligent appreciation of it? Impossible! But then how strange is it, that no sooner does the mind awaken to inquiry, than it finds itself amid snares and pit-falls, abandoned, I had almost said, to the anguish of perpetual doubt.” The utterance of these last words was like acry of pain. They were extorted by mental misery. A tear glistened in the loving eye that looked upon him, and a voice, trembling with emotion, responded, “ My dear friend, you know my views,— “T BELIEVE In THE Hoxy Guost.’’' A cloud settled over the face of the young ' The “ Creed.” 24 THE COMPLAINT. man. He was in deep waters. Heart was not answering to heart, nor the face of friend to friend. The restlessness and depression, which had before found utterance in vain longings for personal converse with Christ,! still preyed upon a mind which, from some cause or other, seemed strangely unable to comprehend the mission of the Comforter, and, therefore, failed to recognize any sure ground of certainty in relation to truth, or any good reason for joy and peace in be- leving it. “T cannot realize,” he said, “your doce- trine of the indwelling of the Divine. I feel conscious of shrinking more and more,—al- though I scarcely know why,—from all sharply defined views in relation to the Trinity. Every form of thought, which seems to violate my conceptions of the unity of the Divine Being, I increasingly dread, and habitually avoid. Hence, I cannot pray, as you do, to the Holy Spirit. Surely it is best to ad- dress our supplications to the Eternal Father, ' “The Comforter,” pp. 9—11. THE COMPLAINT. 25 in the name and through the mediation of his only Son, our Lord and Saviour, hoping and believing, as we are fully justified in doing, that we are led by that Spirit, of whom it is so beautifully said, ‘He helpeth our infirmities, and maketh intercession for us, with groanings which cannot be uttered.’ Who can understand the mystery of the Divine Existence? Who, therefore, can ven- ture to say that any given metaphysical con- ceptions of it can be of vital importance, or justly blame another, for not holding views on so transcendent a subject in common with his own? Feeling thus, you cannot wonder that I still fail to conceive of ‘the Comforter ’ in any other light than that of a Divine in- fluence, softening the heart, and preparing it for the right reception of the words of Jesus and his apostles. As such, I cannot suppose that any essential distinction can be main- tained, between the gift of the Spirit under the Old Testament dispensation, and that of the Comforter under the New. The differ- ence, whatever it be, must be one of degree, c2 26 THE COMPLAINT. not of kind. To Gentile, as to Jew, it is the same life-giving, ever-flowing stream of blessedness, emanating from the throne of God, and entering the heart of the believer, just in proportion as he opens the door to the sacred visitant. “Do not understand me as denying either the doctrine of the Trinity or the personality of the Holy Spirit, so far as either the one . or the other is revealed in Scripture; but remembering that both these terms are human,—that Christ and his apostles dis- pensed with them altogether——I may, I think, fairly be excused if, with such ex- amples, I object to be bound by a phrase- ology which is simply that of the schools.” “YT have no affection whatever,” replied his friend, “ for these particular phrases. As I said before,’ I use them only because of my inability to find others which express the thoughts they are intended to convey with equal significance. I am far from wish- ing you to be bound by any particular ter- 1 “Comforter,” p. 19. THE COMPLAINT. 27 minology, nor am I in the least disposed to make you an offender for a word. But do not let us deceive ourselves. Let us at least ascertain, in some form or other, whether we mean the same thing. In doing this, let us abandon all technical terms whatsoever, and look, if possible, at the heart of the matter. “The real question is, Have we, or have we not, as Christians, a right to expect certainty and joy as the fruit of our faith P— a confidence rising into gladness, a joy re- dolent of strength ? “T maintain that we have; since such a blessing is unquestionably promised by and through the Comforter, and has been actually experienced by thousands. “ Without, therefore, even asking, whether the difference between the gift of the Holy Spirit under the Old, and under the New Testament dispensation, be one of kind, or only one of degree,—for both these terms are objectionable as applied to any manifestation of the Divine Presence,—let us fix our minds steadily on the fact, that while, to the Jew, the 28 THE COMPLAINT. Holy Spirit was simply Divine influence,—a power that might be resisted or obeyed, but could scarcely be regarded as the object of affection,—for it was to him impersonal ; this same gift is, to the renewed Christian, accord- ing to the later and fuller revelations of the Saviour, the direct manifestation in the soul, of God in Christ ; and that it therefore involves living union, not with the Father only, but with the Son also; both in one, come, as it were, into the heart of the believer, and so is fulfilled that wondrous saying, ‘ Lf a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and WE will come unto him, and make our abode with him” Tf we only realize this promise, I cannot doubt but that we shall feel the distinction to which I have adverted, although we may not be able de- finitely or wisely to express the difference in words. ‘The real question, I say again, is not whether this or that phraseology be the best, but which idea is scriptural? It is not a ! John xiv. 23. THE COMPLAINT. 29 question of metaphysics, but of fact. And it is just because we cannot understand the mys- tery of the Divine Existence,—just because all our metaphysical notions are in this case utterly worthless, that we are bound, simply and sincerely, and in the spirit of little chil- dren, to accept God’s own revelation of Himself, just as He is pleased to give it to us, whether we can understand triplicity in the divine nature or not; however much, to use your own phrase, it may violate all our conceptions of the divine unity. Truth still remains the same,—‘ Zhe Lord our God is one Lord.’ * “You will admit, J am sure, that we know nothing whatever of God, apart from the revelations of the Bible. You will as readily allow, that in that book He is distinctly set before us as the Eternal Father, the Eternal Word, and the Eternal Spirit. You do not, I imagine, suppose that God became Triune in order that man might be redeemed, or that there ever was a time when ‘the Word’ 1 Mark xii. 29. 30 THE COMPLAINT: and ‘the Spirit’ were not. You know very well, that God would have been equally the Triune Jehovah, had the world never been created, or had man never sinned.1 Why then should you stumble and be perplexed ' A good deal of confusion and doubt exists in many minds, in relation to the doctrine of the Trinity, owing to the very loose way in which some good men allow them- selves to talk on this mysterious subject. Drawing no clear distinction between the divine Logos, or “ Eternal Word,” and the “ only begotten Son of God,” they are con- tinually assuming that the Creator of the universe bled and died on earth,—that the man Christ Jesus made the world. Now, surely it is not necessary to say, that this is very unscriptural. The pre-existence of the Lord—not, indeed, in humanity, but as “the Eternal Word,” one with the Father—is a clearly revealed truth; for “by Him (the Logos, or Eternal Word) all things were made; and without Him was not anything made that was made.” But this is a very different thing from the pre-existence of Jesus of Nazareth, “the only begotten Son” of the Father, miraculously conceived in the womb of the Virgin, and mysteriously united to the pre-existent and eternal Word. That the Logos is repeatedly spoken of, as the Son of God, in the Old Testament, is certain; but then it is always prophetically, as in the second Psalm, or in connection THE COMPLAINT. SE at the idea of praying either to Christ or to the Holy Spirit, when it has pleased God practically to reveal himself to us in these characters ; and when he has rendered idolatry impossible, by telling us, that he who honours the Son, honours the Father also,’ and that no sin is equal in enormity to blasphemy against the Holy Ghost ? * “The fact is, my dear friend, you, like many other excellent persons, still linger, to your own great loss, on purely Old Testa- ment ground. The only difference between you and the pious Jew of old 1s, that while he lived in faith on Messiah that was fo come, SE Re ae I a cee Fee) with the Divine appearance in human form, as in Genesis and in Daniel, in which cases it is simply predictive of the incarnation. The eternal triplicity of the Divine nature, however inexplicable to us, is a sublime fact, altogether independent of the creation, fall, or redemption of man or any other creature. It is much to be regretted that a phrase or two in the Nicene Creed, should seem to countenance a contrary view. The Apostles’ Creed is beautifully clear and simple on this point. ' John y. 23. 2 Matt. xii. 31. 32 THE COMPLAINT. you repose on Messiah that came, eighteen hundred years ago. “You may have clearer conceptions than he had of the future state; for Christ has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.t| You may know more than he did about the resurrection of the body ; since Christ, having risen from the dead, has ‘become the first fruits of them that slept.’ ? You may have more extended and more spiritual views regarding the kingdom that is to come; for Christ hath made Jew and Gentile one, breaking down ‘the middle wall of partition between us.’* But closer and more personal communion with God, through ‘the Comforter,’ or greater repose in truth, through the infallible ‘ Guide,’ 4 by your own confession, you have not; while it ig quite certain that you are distracted by a multitude of doubts and difficulties, of which the pious Jew knew nothing. “Tn your apprehension, as it seems to me, WO Yep ig ea as Cs 2 1 Cor. xv. 20. * Ephes. ii. 14, 4 John xvi. 13. THE COMPLAINT. ous the gift of “the Comforter,” as distinguished from that of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, is nothing more than increased light; it is the Spirit teaching evangelically,— revealing the Gospel,—taking of the things of Christ, and showing them unto us; the result simply being, a more copious mani- festation of divine influence. “ But this is not the doctrine of Scripture. Our Lord’s words certainly imply much more than is included in this limited, and very imperfect view of the promise. Christ says nothing about greater degrees, of spiritual influence,—nothing about richer and fuller developments, of a blessing already enjoyed ; He announces a coming Person—one, who was to bring, not the disciples only, but all believers, into a relationship with God, closer than any that had been before enjoyed,— nearer, even, than that which had existed between the apostles and Himself during his sojourn on earth; since it was to be a relationship, purified and perpetuated by the actual indwelling of the Divine. D 84 THE COMPLAINT. “To me the distinction, of which I speak, is as broad and clear as that which obtains between the Christophany of Patriarchal or Mosaic times, and the incarnation of Christ in Judea. In both, we have the same Re- deemer ; in both, the same Spirit! Yet how different! The angel in the tent with Abraham, is not to us, more distinct from Jesus in the upper room at Jerusalem, than is the Holy Spirit that inspired the temple service, and hovered over the families of Judea, from ‘the Comforter’ that descended upon the apostles on the day of Pentecost, and filled the hearts of the first believers with swch love, that, for a season, they had all things in common, selling their posses- sions and goods, and parting them to all, as every man hadneed.’ And yet both are Onn. “ As a convincer ‘of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment,’ the Spirit now stands to the world at large, in a relation which, under the ancient dispensation, would seem to have belonged all but exclusively to ! Acts ii. 45. * THE COMPLAINT. 35 the Jew; for as a reprover and a guide He is, in these days, not far from any of us.’ But as the promised ‘Comforter,—the in- dwelling God, bringing in his train love and peace, purity and gladness,—he abides with those only who have faith to discern his mission, and hearts that hunger after its fulfilment in themselves. The denial of these truths robs the New Testament of half its meaning, and strips Christianity of its choicest pleasures.” 1 In this sense—that is, as a “convincer” of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, by and through the Spirit, —Christ is in every man, “the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” To the same divine source, whatever is, or ever has been good, even in the most depraved of the children of men, may unquestion- ably be traced. Theologians may call, if they will, a noble and unselfish act, when performed by an unrenewed man, “ but a splendid sin;” one’s only answer is, that the world would be much happier if such “ splendid sins” were more frequently perpetrated—a strange thing to say of any kind of sin. Those who are, very properly, anxious not to make God the author of sin, should also be careful not to make Satan the author of anything good. a Gatch | ehtvaun & ‘gen elo 3 Be gtr ree Wd 79 Or a a need) ay Ney Pipy . devia sans “OY YA . lca \. * j ‘ <3 oy ot ale Ye vii ne on eagaeeie ni Oe ae f Gbe Gnetion of the Holy One. “T thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and pru- dent, and hast revealed then unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight—Matt. xi 25, 26. “Some few indeed may arrive at faith by profound inquiry, since sound philosophy must lead to truth ; but cofi dence founded on facts, though a child like, is yet the only way by which men in general can be led to love Christ, and give themselves to God.”—Perthes. ai a ne aft ta nia) re) Wd few, wad frat Re ee | rey > 0) aay ee seul veodd mal | vance ‘5 eb MOTE ews oer aie, ered Deed tnin a) aa 4s abe. eM daa abe ainces 70 Paley oo ? Aa ss ars BR: WG : ys oY Atin: '; ) * < SS wad ve pees ok ite n. qveiea OuesP fader’ wal = i Bes 9 Fk rey cialis Iie bee a Rathi s 3 bath biel 0 Sige ath Sal ar fillvaeitle an uh “athe a wt Unb es rt i *) ‘.. CHAPTER II. HE conversation was resumed the fol- lowing evening, by the younger observing that he still needed more light. “Iam,” said he, “ quite at a loss to see how it can be shown, that cuRTAINTY as to divine truth is attain- able, without the aid either of direct teaching from Heaven on the one hand, or of Church authority on the other. For I understand you to deny, he added, that the Holy Spirit, except under miraculous conditions, acts directly either on the understanding of the individual Christian, or on the combined assemblages which, from time to time, meet 40 THE UNCTION OF THE HOLY ONE. under various forms and names in the Christian Church. “You stated distinctly, I remember, on a former occasion, that while the Holy Spirit, in answer to prayer, enlightens the intellect, he does so, not directly, but mediately, acting on the intellect through the moral nature only, removing obstacles to the free and healthy action of the understanding, but not giving to it any additional light or power. All enthu- siastic interpretations of Scripture, youseemed to think, were based on the error, held by so many, that the action of the Holy Spirit on the mind is immediate and direct, enlighten- ing it as to the will of God, by means sepa- rable, if not distinct from the purification of the heart, and the elevation of the character.! These views I suppose you still maintain ; and yet you seem to assert, that guidance is as near as comfort, and certainty as attainable as joy. It is not, I confess, without a good deal of curiosity that I wait further expla- nations.’’ * “The Comforter,” pp: 62—75. THH UNCTION OF THE HOLY ONE. 41 “You shall soon be satisfied, then,” replied his friend, “ for I am neither a mystic nor a philosopher :— “** Yon cottager, who weaves at her own door, Pillow and bobbins all her little store, is the only living witness that I shall call to prove my case. “* She, for her humble sphere by nature fit, Has little understanding, and no wit; Yet knows, and knows no more, her Bible true— And in that charter reads, with sparkling eyes, Her title to a treasure in the skies.’ “ How, I ask, comes this to pass? Howis it that this poor woman, free from doubt, is at once assured and glad? “There can be but one answer,—She realizes, though perhaps unconsciously, the truth of the apostolic promise, and by ‘an wnction from the Holy One, knows all things.’ Allow me to add, without any admixture of mysticism, that the same ‘unction’ is freely offered to you.” * 1 John ii. 20. 42 THE UNOTION OF THE HOLY ONE. “T am glad,” replied the other, “that you have referred to that passage; for it has fre- quently perplexed me. Judging from the con- text, the apostle would seem to imply, that the persons, to whom he wrote, were so filled with the spirit of purity and joy, that it was im- possible for them to be misled by false teachers. Their moral condition, in and by itself, would seem to be regarded as affording full and adequate security against their fall- ing into error; so complete a safeguard, in fact, that further instruction was superfluous, for the apostle adds,—‘ The anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you. * But of whom can this be said now? ”’ “Of every real Christian who is alive to his privileges,” was the fearless reply. ‘“ When the Apostle John says, ‘ Whosoever alideth in (God) sinneth not ;*? he is not speaking of ideal persons, nor yet of angels, but of frail and erring mortals like ourselves, in whom, by divine grace, the love of God is per- * 1 John ii, 27. 7 1 John iii. 6. THE UNOTION OF THE HOLY ONE. 43 fected." And in the same sense in which he speaks of human perfection in character, he affirms the possibility of absolute protection from error. By sinning not, he means free- dom from that servitude to evil in which sin consists. By knowing all things, he implies the possession of that spiritual instinct, which, given to all believers, and znfallible as Sur as tt goes, is quite sufficient to preserve spiritual life, health, and joy, and fully able to distinguish food from poison.” “T am not sure,” rejoined the former, “ that I fully understand your meaning. Do you intend to say that you find in the spiritual life a distinction, similar to that which ob- tains in animal life between instinct and reason ?—the one, infallible within its appro- priate limits, but unreasoning and unim- proveable; the other gradually developed, capable of indefinite extension, yet ever liable to err: and do you wish me to suppose, that you regard the former as Divinz, ‘the unction of the Holy One;’ the latter as * 1 John iv. 12. 44 THB UNCTION OF THE HOLY ONE. Human,—the result of experience, reflection, and growth P” “If the analogy be not pushed too far, I do,” he replied. “ What I mean to assert is this, that the ‘unction of the Holy One,’ of which the apostle speaks, is not to be con- founded with any power attainable by human instrumentality ; that it is neither the off- spring of reason, nor the result of culture ; but, like life itself, a direct inspiration of the Almighty, and therefore the common pro- perty of all believers, belonging alike to the redeemed child, and to the converted savage, to the disciple just entering upon life, and to the aged Christian trembling, like the ripe corn, before the tread of the reaper. “As such, it is at once limited and infal- lible; limited in its application to those things only which ‘ pertain unto life and god- liness ;?? infallible, because it is Divine. To the Roman slave, as much as to the Roman senator, did the words of the apostle apply, 2: Petji'S. THE UNCTION OF THE HOLY ONE. 45 Ye have an Unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.’ “In other words, then,’ said his com- panion, “you hold that the first Christians had, and that all true children of God still have, within them, such a measure of the Holy Spirit, that, independent of all study or learn- ing, and apart from all reasoning, they are amply furnished with defences against false- hood, and are able to discern betwixt truth and error. If it be so, Christians are cer- tainly much safer than I had imagined. “ But how, then, do you account for early heresies,—for the endless divisions of Chris- tendom, or, for the soul-destroying errors which are yet sometimes preached, even in the purest churches of the Reformation ?” “ The phrase, ‘ soul-destroying errors,’’’ he replied, ‘‘is very often used by excellent per- sons with very little consideration, and still less meaning. These, and such like exag- gerated forms of speech, mostly. borrowed. from men who write in haste, and for effect, imply a total forgetfulness of the fact, that E 46 THE UNCTION OF THE HOLY ONE. no one theological notion is ever held alone ; that errors, apparently the most deadly, are commonly neutralized by other forms of truth ; and that in relation to conduct, no- thing can long influence a true believer, which is obviously opposed to the Divine life; for, as I have already said, the new nature has its infallible instincts, and these are to the soul, what common sense is to the intellect, and vital force to the body,—the strength and the witnesses of God. “Theology is not life, it is pastwre. One spot of ground may afford better and more nutritious food than another, but xo par- ticular kind of herbage is essential to exist- ence. Particular sheepwalks, like particular sheepfolds, have their special value; but it is only a relative value after all. It is the Shepherd, ‘the Good Shepherd,’ who ‘ giveth his. life for the sheep,’ in whom alone they live. ‘ This’ only ‘is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, 999 1 and not die. * John vi. 50. THE UNCTION OF THE HOLY ONE. 47 “And yet,’ rejomed the other, ‘the Apostles denounce false teachers in terms that almost make one shudder. What says St. Paul? ‘But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other Gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. * And what says St. John? ‘Jf there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, recewe him not into your house, nei- ther bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds’ * — St. Jude again exhorts the Church ‘ earnestly to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints ;? * while the Saviour himself, in the visions of the Apocalypse, speaking of the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, says,‘ Which thing I hate” * What language can be stronger ? No error can either be innocent, or unim- portant, which moves inspired lips to anger, and calls forth the wrath, even of the Lamb.” * Gal.i.8. 7 2 John 10,11. * Jude 3. * Rev. ii, 15. 48 THE UNCTION OF THE HOLY ONE. “ar be it from me to say,” replied his friend, “that error of any kind is unim- portant ; and still less to affirm, that the par- ticular heresies, to which Christ and his Apostles refer in the passages you have quoted, were of that character; for it is clear enough they were incompatible with safety. “Do not imagine, however, that they had much, if anything, in common with our modern theological disputes, or that they are to be classed with the errors, supposing them to be such, of the men, whose speculations seem so much to distress you. The writers of whom you complain may be mistaken in many of their views, and you know that I, as an individual, think they are so; but it would be both a folly and an injustice, to class them with the persons condemned by Paul, or Jude, or John. “The speculations of the early heretics, did’ not relate to the nature of human de- pravity ; to the philosophy of the Atonement ; to the forensic or other character of justifica- tion ; or to the mode and extent of Divine In- THE UNCTION OF THE HOLY ONE. 49 spiration in the Holy Scriptures. They were either, absolute denials of the great facts, on which Christianity was based ; or else, equally absolute repudiations of its moral character. They were either, utterly inconsistent with Christianity as a revelation from God; or else, totally destructive of all moral principle. The denial that Christ had ever come ‘7 the flesh,’ * was the one; ‘turning the grace of God into lasciviousness ’* was the other. The doctrine of the Nicolaitanes is generally sup- posed to have been of the latter class. * “ Acainst errors of this description, what could the Apostles say less than, ‘ Bid them not God speed. ‘Be not, even by implication, ‘partakers of their evil deeds. ‘ Contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints” And is it wonderful that, im rela- tion to such perversions of truth, he should * 2 John 7. > Jude 4. 3’ If what is said of the Mormonites be true, they would seem to be the modern representatives of the Nicolaitanes. Among no other class of persons, professing Christianity at all, is licentiousness taught as a Christian doctrine. BE 2 50 THE UNCTION OF THE HOLY ONE. appeal, not to reason, or learning, or culture, but to spiritual consciousness, and should say of such matters, ‘ Ye have an Unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. The anoint- ong which ye have received of Him abideth in you: and ye need not that any man teach you.’” “JT do not see,” replied his companion, “that this reasoning applies to the errors of the Galatian Church, which had certainly more in common with our own; and 7¢ is in relation to these, let it be remembered, that St. Paul says, ‘But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed,’ ”’ “The errors of the Judaizing teachers,’’ rejoined his friend, “thus rebuked by St. Paul, were as distinct in character from our heresies, as the Antichrists denounced by St. John. They did not relate to any particular mode of stating Christian doctrines,—to any plulosophy of religion, or to any differences which might be supposed to exist, as to the degree of importance, which ought to be at- THE UNCTION OF THE HOLY ONE. 51 tached to any particular truth. They were subversive of Christianity itself. “He who accepted the teaching of these troublers of the Church, abandoned, not this or that doctrine merely, but everything that distinguished Christianity from Judaism. To him, the Gentile, if uncircumcised, was still unclean,—he would not eat with him. Salvation, was no more by faith, but by the law of Moses. It was an attempt to rebuild that, which Christianity had thrown down ; to re-establish, that which Christ had super- seded. It was, in short, ‘another Gospel ;’ and, as such, he who brought it, was justly to be regarded as excommunicate, an outcast from the Church,—in the moral position of pne who, under the Jewish economy, was set apart for public execution as a great criminal. St. Paul, on another occasion, in the ardour of his patriotism, says, he could wish himself in that position,—the object of universal execration and contempt, if thereby he could save his countrymen from ruin.’ He would 1 Rom, ix. 3. 52. THE UNCTION OF THE HOLY ONE. be the last to approve, of our hurling these anathemas at our fellow Christians, however wrong they may be in their views of Divine truth.” “Ts doctrine, then, of no importance?” exclaimed the other. “Is it of no moment, whether the views of sin we hold, be right or wrong? Whether the death of Christ be regarded as a proper sacrifice, or merely as a moral agency, through which man is brought . back to God? Has justification by faith ceased to be the test of a standing or a falling Church ? Are questions about the inspira- tion of the Scriptures idle ?”’ “T neither said, nor meant to imply, any- thing of the kind,’’ remarked his companion. “All I maintain is, that the importance of such questions is relative, not absolute. They have, I doubt not, much to do with mental health; although little with spiritual life. As weapons of warfare, they may not unfrequently be handled with advantage ; but they have no power to quicken, or to subdue. “1 think we all greatly exaggerate the im- THE UNCTION OF THE HOLY ONE. 53 portance of these discussions. Religion does not consist, either in right views of sin, or in just conceptions of the Atonement: in the acceptance of the doctrine of Justification by Faith, or in the belief that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God: but in that vital union to Christ through the Holy Sprit, which causes us to know and feel that we are sinners,—to appreciate redemption by and through Jesus,—to see the goodness of God in thwarting our evil inclinations,—and to desire perpetual growth in goodness and love. _ The devout study of the Scriptures promotes this new and better life, because its inspired truth fully harmonizes with the spiritual conscious- ness of the renewed soul, satisfies its cravings, and at once enlightens, sanctifies, comforts, and controls. But it does this, quite inde- pendently of its verbal inspiration, its freedom from scientific error, or the exact accuracy of its translation into the English tongue. “Tf it were otherwise,—if life were de- pendent on anything but the Life-Giver, what would become of the poor and the 54 THE UNCTION OF THE HOLY ONE. ignorant? How could the millions who, in past ages, lived and died in the faith, rarely hearing the voice of a living teacher, and unable to read a manuscript, if it fell into their hands, have ever been Christians at all ? Or, how could we explain the fact, that, at the present day, the noblest examples of simple faith and piety, are found in negro slaves, in peasants’ huts, in spots where controversy never comes, and among persons to whom, if it reached them, it would be but as the jargon of an unknown tongue? How, I say, could all this be, if believing ‘with the heart unto righteousness,’' were not a totally different thing from holding, as it is termed, the analogy of faith P “The truth is, that to slaves and peasants, the simple facts of the Gospel, as the symbols of its ideas, are its cardinal doctrines. -And, let me add, just in proportion as we are sound-hearted Christians, they are so to us.” “All this I fully grant,” said the young man, “but since you cannot deny that the ? Rom. x. 10. THE UNOTION OF THE HOLY ONE. 55 Epistles of St. Paul, St. Peter, and St. John, contain much more than facts; since no slight degree of importance seems to be attached, by the writers of the New Testament, to just views of truth; since an inspired book is to us, what an inspired Apostle was, to the early Church ; since it pleases God, ‘ by the foolish- ness of preaching to save them that believe;’ ' since the proclamation of the truth, produces a very different effect on mankind from the proclamation of error; since sound doctrine, is the root of all sound practice; since dif- ferent forms of teaching, produce different forms of character; since one kind is power- ful, to ‘the pulling down of strong holds’? of sin and Satan, and another kind powerless, either to persuade or to convert, it is ob- viously of the highest importance, that we should carefully fence the boundaries that divide truth from error, and say to the specu- lative inquirer—hitherto, but no further. “We may differ as to the precise spots, on which it is either wise or right to erect these 101, Corti ai: 7 2 Cor, x. 4. 56 THE UNOTION OF THE HOLY ONE. barriers, but we cannot do without them alto- gether; unless, indeed, we abandon Christian fellowship, as incompatible with Christian freedom, and travel by solitary paths to the Heavenly City. That some few may do this with advantage, is perhaps possible ; but he who taught his converts to ‘provoke one another to love and good works, not forsaking >] well the assembling of themselves together, knew that such a course, was not adapted to the ordinary necessities of human nature. And yet, ‘Can two walk together, except they be agreed ?’* The apostles certainly based Chris- tian fellowship on community of thought, as well as of feeling; and, to secure it, they in- structed their converts in much more than the facts of the Gospel. To the simple Roman slave, who, like his master, accepted everything on authority, they probably gave little more than first truths, commending them, in all their elementary grandeur, to the newly awakened consciousness of the man who was now led by the Spirit. But to the obstinacy 1 Heb. x. 25. ? Amos iii. 3. THE UNCTION OF THE HOLY ONE. 657 of the Jew, and the restless scepticism of the Greek, they steadily opposed arguments and illustrations, which have ever since formed, what may, I think without impropriety, be termed the philosophy of our faith. These arguments it is, that are now called im ques- tion,—oftentimes very indirectly I grant,— but still in such a manner, as to shake the very foundations of one’s belief. You may not understand my state of mind; but I assure you, after reading such books as those I have just closed, I feel that kind of despair, which, one can readily conceive, would take possession of a man who was led suddenly to suspect, that he had expended his entire fortune in building on a quicksand.” “ Your experience,” replied his friend, “is, I doubt not, that of many. It will be the experience of thousands before long. And yet, these books should be read, calmly and candidly ; may be read, I think, with much advantage; must be read, if we are ever to find out the difference, between resting on human opinions, and on the eternal Rock of EF 58 THE UNCTION OF THE HOLY ONE. inspired truth. You must not think me harsh, if I say that, the books in question ought not to have produced the feelings you describe ; and that the fact of their having done so, is proof, that they have probed weak points in your Christian character. They will have rendered you a great service, if they drive you to seek surer foundations for your faith, than those which, according to your account, appear to be so easily shaken and disturbed. “T fully admit the force ofall you have said, as to the argumentative character of the Epistles ; as to the importance which is at- tached by the writers, to just views of truth ; and, especially, as to the peculiarities of our own particular position—our faith, apparently, depending on a book; itsextension in the world, on preaching ; its power, practically associated with its purity; its practice, bound up with its doctrines; and its permanence, with fel- lowships which can only exist, in connection with common beliefs. And yet, in face of it all, J am prepared to insist, that the Christian religion is not a creed, but a@ life; that its THE UNOCTION OF THE HOLY ONE. 59 existence—a perpetual miracle,—is indepen- dent of any particular form of thought; and that it is irrational, to allow one’s faith in it to be shaken, by any criticism on the Scriptures—however subtle or sceptical—or by any logical forms of reasoning whatsoever.” “T accept your statement,” replied the other, “that religion is a life rather than a creed; I admit, that to simple minds, the facts of the Gospel are its cardinal doctrines ; I agree with you, that it is both folly and weakness, to allow one’s faith to be so easily disturbed; and I so far, bow before the re- buke you have administered. Yet I cannot say that, after all, my mind is, to any ap- preciable extent, relieved of its difficulty ; for all such general propositions as those you have enunciated, however indisputable, can only be held safely, with many modifications. You would not yourself, I think, admit them in the case of the Unitarian, or the Papist ; although both hold to the facts of the Gospel, and both justify their errors by appeals to consciousness ; the consciousness in the one 60 THE UNCTION OF THE HOLY ONE. case being that of the individual, in the other that of the so-called Catholic Church.” “Let me remind you,” rejoined his friend, “that I have all along been speaking with St. John, not of human consciousness gene- rally, but of the spiritual consciousness of the renewed soul. I have proceeded, from first to last, on the supposition that there is such a thing as this ‘witness of the Spirit ;’ that it is, as the apostle terms it, ‘an Unction from the Holy One;°? and that without it, no man can discern spiritual truth. ‘ The natural man, says the Apostle, ‘receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual gudgeth all things.’ , “Let me also remind you, that Unitarians generally, deny the existence of any such divine faculty. They do not admit the necessity of renewal, believing that the heart of man is naturally open to all good in- fluences. The facts of the Gospel are but 1 1 Cor. ii, 14, 15. THE UNCTION OF THE HOLY ONE. 61 partially received by them; for some, are commonly rejected, and others, as frequently explained away. Religion, to a consistent Unitarian, is, properly speaking, a creed, rather than a life. For of that mysterious fellow- ship of ‘saints,’ which pervades all the apos- tolic epistles, he is profoundly ignorant,— smiling at every attempt to unite men in such a character, and denying altogether the exist- ence of ‘holy brethren,’ or of an ‘elect’ and ‘chosen’ people, separable, and in spirit sepa- rated, from what St. John calls, a world lying in wickedness.! That vital wnion of saints with their risen Lord, and through Him with one another, which constitutes the life I speak of, he considers to be but an enthusiastic dream, if not some thing worse. “Nor is the case of the Papist very dis- similar. He, too, denies the life which per- vades the flock; for he rejects holiness itself, if unaccompanied by the dogmas of his church—a church which, according to him, has light directly from the Spirit, through 1 1 John v. 19. F 2 62 THE UNCTION OF THE HOLY ONE. its official channels, and irrespective alto- gether of the moral elevation of the re- cipients. The facts of the Gospel, he can scarcely be said to receive as such, for he overlays them with idle fictions; and the consciousness of the renewed soul, he merci- lessly tramples under the iron heel of a sacrificing priest. To him, as to the Unit- arian, religion is a creed rather than a life. “Far, therefore, from overturning the apostolic principle, the cases you have put decidedly confirm its practical value ; for they clearly prove that this rule, like every- thing else that is divine, while broad enough to admit the entire ‘household of God,’ is yet sufficiently exclusive to shut out all who have no sympathy with it as a family. “In these, however, as in all other cases, let us ever remember, that none but God can know the originating and determining causes of error; and, therefore, He alone can judge as to its malignity in any particular instance. ‘The man is often more and other than his belief; and God only knows how small or THE UNOCTION OF THE HOLY ONE. 63 how large a part of him the belief in question may be.’? When Christ uttered that mourn- ful exclamation, ‘ How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of heaven,’ and the wondering apostles, looking at one another, asked, ‘Who then can be saved 7’ he added, for their instruction, as well as consolation, those blessed words, ‘ With men © (that is, according to the necessary inferences, and logical conclusions, which short-sighted men may draw from what I have said) this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.’ ” “Of Papists I am content to believe, with good Richard Baxter, ‘that God hath many sanctified ones among them, who have re- ceived the true doctrine of Christianity so practically, that their contradictory errors prevail not against them, to hinder their love of God and their salvation,—but that their errors are like a conquerable dose of poison, which a healthful nature doth over- 1 “ Aids to Reflection,” Spir. Aph. viii., note. 2 Matt. xix. 26. 64 THE UNCTION OF THE HOLY ONE. come.’ He adds, ‘I can never believe that a man may not be saved by that religion which doth but bring him to the true love of God, and to a heavenly mind and life; nor that God will ever cast a soul into hell that truly loveth him.’ ? “So much may, I think, fairly be allowed to - Romanism as a religion ; but this is only one side of that extraordinary system. As a polity, language fails adequately to express the abhorrence, with which it should be regarded by every friend of truth and freedom. Cruel, treacherous, and atheistic,—a ‘mystery of iniquity,’ its continued existence on earth seems to be permitted by an inscrutable Providence, to show how naturally, when left to himself, man bows before the mean, and how miserable are the attempts of mortals to imitate Jehovah, or to forestal the reign of his ‘only begotten Son.’ “But enough of this, which is beside our object. Whatever may be erroneous or faulty in the views of the writers you so greatly '“ Baxter's Life,” p. 131, quoted in “ Aids to Reflection.” THE UNCTION OF THE HOLY ONE; 65 dread, the men themselves are honourably distinguished by reverence for truth, so far as they have received it; by deep earnest- ness ; by a simple reception of all the great facts of the Gospel history; and, so far as I am aware, by blamelessness of life. Some of them have the reputation, and, I believe, justly, of being men of a singularly devout spirit.” “T do not question the personal excellence of any of them,”’ replied the other; “ but I do not see that piety is any apology for heresy, nor do I believe that the apostles ever admitted such a plea, in extenuation of departures from ‘the faith once delivered to the saints.’ Forgive me, if I say, that I think Paul would have regarded your sentiments as much too ‘broad.’ ” “Tt is too late,” rejoined his friend, “to enter upon that question to-night; but to- morrow evening, I shall be quite ready to furnish you with good reasons for coming to another, and a contrary conclusion.” Ea iik Ha Hi shichaan’ svat Bees pamoihpg nap pate A yat ounian ‘e Pe thet: eth, gn a ee ; ’ sb wales. hi wiiep. cede abe ¢d ATE owe "6 Rat iS hana: Geusiteedasigngte van, ee 7 Meera ntviieamn. Coon ae | eae fi ies ee e's Ba OT nt Heel Leelee TD haan ee Mecsas oh! cryin ot ents ole BS : el Mihst pit th F heathy: alates: fat Oe, aac ME tat SY Sea pi HB SHIP) | awwtatiget by ootyy ae PS oe a ny Balenncibes He yobliy Wace Ley sheehe iby 9 i a i Peibedionart tote aoe. ho ig “240 hs areal: LB "ow etna peter adie: rt . s ely a ia “ vy # elvigcrt at ak eA es ay a “ ' ” mn + ihe = cee Criticism: and Controversy. “ Orthodox propositions are sometimes only stone tables, which do not come even from Sinai.”——Perthes. “ This was the true and first apostacy, when, in council and synod, the divine humanities of the Gospel gave way to speculative systems, and religion became a science of shadows under the name of theology.”— Coleridge's “Aids,” p- 184. Pee, © i Tae ete ' ’ pene - F (Aa . peer eronibnd ee Be! ah fi Hh tly oe pi ash ie f ie etvell iy a i] ick a ino * =S{\ f ‘ oS 7 : gs 8 i S =VA ? 7 g py \3 * 6 K CE iF a ~ ~ =) PZ Pe ee WW RN 2 ‘{ > — : Jk RS Se IPR s FE \ ‘ 3 f %. Gy 4 So f sy = a S Kars Za we BZ > P td § . Se Se AY CHAPTER III. ¢ I HAVE already expressed my convic- tion,” resumed the speaker, on the fol- lowing evening, “that the heresies of the apostolic age, have little or nothing in com- mon, with the speculations of our modern divines ; the former, being quite incompatible with the christian consciousness ; the latter, exhibiting no features inconsistent with either faith or love. They who held the errors John condemns, were, by holding them, quickly alienated from Christianity alto- gether. ‘They went out from us,’ says the Apostle, ‘but they were not of us;’ ‘they @ 70 CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.’* The aliena- tion was conscious; the separation appears to have been voluntary. Those, on the con- trary, who are accounted the troublers of modern times, not only remain in the Church,” put, in many respects, adorn their profession by holiness of life. In vain, then, shall we look in the inspired page for denunciations, direct or indirect, which can fairly be brought to bear against them. The apostles have no thunderbolts for those who love the Lord Jesus Christ, whatever may be their mental peculiarities, or however diverse their views. “And yet it may fairly be presumed, not only from the identity of human nature in all ages, but from the apostolic writings themselves, that the same tendency to doubt, to inquire, to reason, to speculate, to infer, and to judge, which distinguishes so many in our own day, was not wanting in earlier converts to the faith. Equally certain is it, 1! | John ii. 19. CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. ~ 71 that such tendencies brought with them the same dangers, and the same inconveniences, which are now found to accompany unfettered freedom of thought and expression. “The apostolic mode of dealing with such persons, appears, however, to have been some- what different from ours. A warning to ministers, not to give ‘heed to fables and endless genealogies;’’ a caution to hearers, to beware ‘lest any man’ should ‘spoil’ them ‘through philosophy and vain deceit;’? a charge, to ‘hold fast the form of sound words,’ * is almost all that can be gathered up, bearing the semblance even, of dissatisfac- tion or rebuke. “T am not, of course, speaking of those ‘vain and profane babblings,’ that increased ‘unto more ungodliness ;’* nor of men, who said the resurrection was past;* nor yet of the ‘perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds,’ who held that gain was godliness ;° still less of hypocrites, who went ‘in the way 1 1 Tim. i. 4. 22) Tim. i. 13; 5 2 Tim. ii. 18. 2 Col. ii. 8. 4.2 Timsii.16. °3 Timwvitt 72 CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward,’ denying ‘the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ ;’' for we are not referring to such, but to persons who, though true disciples, were yet prone to speculate on ‘things hard to be understood,’ * sometimes striving ‘about words to no pro- fit, * and sometimes open to the charge of ‘vain jangling.’* And it is in relation to these, that I think the apostles, though them- selves inspired, set us so beautiful an ex- ample of candour and true charity. “Even in such cases as those of Hymenzus and Philetus,> whose word ate ‘as doth a canker,’ and who had actwally overthrown ‘the faith of some’ in Christianity altogether, they are content simply to appeal to the witness of the Spirit. ‘ Nevertheless, exclaims the apostle, ‘the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lordj knoweth them that are his. And, Let every ;one that nameth the name of Christ depart from 1 Juded4and ll. 9 2 Tim ii, 14. % 2 Tim. ii. 17. 2 2 Pet. iii. 16. 41 Timi. 6. CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. 73 imiquity. In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth ; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.’} | “Yet no one can truthfully say, that the apostles were indifferent about opinions, or that they neglected to exhibit truth in its relations, or the Gospel as a system. They did both in their epistles, so fur as it seemed good to the Holy Spirit that the thing should be done at all. But no further. The framing of a scientific theology, was a task too great for men who did not even venture to express their comparisons of ‘spiritual things with spiritual,’ * except in words which the Holy Ghost had taught them. ‘ According to the grace of God,’ says the apostle Paul, ‘as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation.’ ‘Let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. ‘If any man build upon this Soundation, which is Jesus Christ, ‘ gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble ; every man’s work shall be made manifest : for ' 2 Tim. ii. 19—20. 2 1 Cor. ii. 13. a2 74, CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. the day shall declare it, because it shall be re- vealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is’* ‘If any man among you seemeth to be wise, let hum become a fool, that he may be wise.’ * “ And so through every epistle, whether of Paul, of Peter, of James, of Jude, or of John. Everywhere it is the conduct, character, spirit, temper, and tone of mind of the converts, that is the subject of anxiety. Everywhere it seems to be taken for granted, that if the great facts of the Gospel are firmly retained, and its few leading principles honestly illus- trated in a holy life, doctrinal errors will be few and unimportant. Hence, the apostles, unlike modern disputants, rarely argue, with- out appealing to the consciousness of those whom they address, and always with dignity and tenderness. “ When they write, it is to ‘ saints,’ ‘ beloved of God,’ elect, ‘sanctified in Christ Jesus.’ * When they reason, it is always from truths 1 1 Cor. iii. 1O—13. 3 Rom. i. 7. 2 1 Cor. iii. 18. 4 1 Cor. i. 2. CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. ~ 75 admitted by both parties to be divine, and, therefore, supposed to form the basis of the inner life. When they exhort, they remind the churches of their ‘calling’ in Christ Jesus,’ and of their having been ‘enriched’ by God ‘in all knowledge.’? Nor do they change their tone, even when dealing with persons, who abused the anointing they had received, by depreciating apostolic authority, and exalting themselves.*? Spoken or unexpressed, the final appeal is always to that witness within, in the power of which alone, the parties addressed, were able to know with certainty whether the things spoken by the apostles were of God or not. “How differently do we proceed! Prac- tically denying any such inward monitor, we reason, attack, defend, prove, impugn, or justify in religious matters, precisely as we do in social or political controversy; the only difference being, that we do it with less forbearance, and more dogmatically.”’ FS) Cor, 1°26. * YCor.'t. 5. Ta kOPe) Rey Khe 76 CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. “You are right there,” said the other, with a smile; “and, I think, are fairly en- titled to acquittal, on the somewhat hasty charge I brought against you, of being too broad; but I still feel unable to apply your principle, however apostolic it may be, to the particular class of publications which first gave occasion to our discussion.” “ How can I be a firm and happy believer in the Book, if I admit the thought that it may be but partially inspired? How can I, with anything like confiding love, repose on any writer in Scripture, respecting whom it is to be an open question whether or no he is not sometimes mistaken, and sometimes misled? Or how, if the religious element only in the Bible is to be regarded as of God, am I to decide as to what portions of the record should be classed under that head ?” « And so, then,” rejoined his friend, “if it should prove true, that more ‘or less of what is given us by the sacred writers, is given from their natural memory and observation, and CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. ~ 77 without supernatural influence ;—if it can be successfully maintained, that ‘ Paul might write to a friend to bring a cloak with him and certain parchménts, without being under the influence requisite to enable him to give his revelations of the man of sin ;’—if it can be shown, that Scripture doctrine, though always in substance the same, was yet viewed by the different writers of the New Testa- ment ‘from different points, or in different relations, according to their respective in- dividualities of character ;’—if the Bible, though of God, can be shown to be also, ‘in some sense, of man ;’—if, mingling amid the imprecatory portions of the Psalms, for in- stance, there should be found both the in- spired prophecy and ‘ the expression of merely human and national feeling ;’—if it should be concluded, that Deborah, in her song, al- though a prophetess, gave expression only to the feeling of her people ;—if David, though the wmspired singer of Israel, should be found, in his ode upon the death of Saul, under the influence of love or loyalty, to be 78 CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. ‘blind to the errors of the dead king, and attribute qualities to him partaking more of poetic license than of truthfulness,’ '—your faith in the Bible is vain. “T repeat it, if these things really are so, then, according to your account, the value of divine revelation is gone; it can no longer form the groundwork of your hope, or be the guide of your life. And this conclusion, one that would have made a primitive Chris- tian either smile or weep, according as he might view it, either in the light of temporary delusion, or fixed perversity, you would have me believe is the inevitable result of modern investigation.” “T deny the conclusion utterly. Grant- ing, (which I am willing to do for the sake of argument, without being at all committed to the opinion) that the distinctions to which I have referred are réal, and that only part of Scripture must be regarded as immediately inspired of God, I still maintain, that, for all practical purposes, there is no difficulty 1 “ British Quarterly Review,” 1851 and 1857. CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. ~*~ 79 whatever in discerning that which is divine ; for every word of God carries its own evi- dence with it, and ‘proves itself, as the sun is seen by its own light.’ But, remember, it does this only to the healthy eye, to the purged and purified intellect ; for everything turns on the motives which bring us to the Book, and on the tone and temper of mind in which inquiry is conducted. Stumble at it as we may, there are those wnto this day, to whom ‘ God has given the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear” * And if it be asked, ‘ Lord, how long ?’ there is but one answer,— ‘ Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and. the land be utterly desolate ;’? until, in other words, severe, but loving discipline, has crushed self- will, subdued pride, and, it may be through fearful desolations of spirit, led them to low- liness and truth. © For ‘there are minds which must be convulsed with doubt, before they ean repose in faith. There are hearts which 1 Rom. xi. 8. 7 Isa. vi. ll. 80 CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. must be broken with disappointment, before they can rise into hope. There are disposi- tions which, like Job, must have all things taken from them, before they can find all things again in God.’? But it is not of such that we are speaking, but of those who, like yourself, can own in better moments, that they have both sought and found the Saviour, know ‘in whom they have believed,’ and are ‘ per- suaded that He is able to keep that which they have committed to Him until that day.’ * For these to allow their faith to be shaken by a criticism, or their hope destroyed by a spe- culation, however plausible, is as sad as it is unreasonable. As well might he who re- ceived his sight at the hands of the Redeemer, have disputed the fact of his cure, because Pharisees denied his benefactor.’ * “O, my dear friend, ‘who hath bewitched you’ in this matter? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by the flesh? How is it that after ‘you have + Robertson’s “ Sermons.” ? “The Comforter,” p. 57. § John ix. 15—34. CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. ~- 81 ‘known God, or rather are known of God,’ you can thus turn again to ‘the weak and beggarly elements’’ of mere external evi- dences ?—to oracles, which, like the tongues spoken of by St. Paul, are ‘for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that be- heve not.’? Having experienced the essen- tial truth of Scripture, why can you not conclude that any apparent contradictions or errors (if such can be found), have been per- mitted for wise ends, and will one day be made plain? If you possess the kernel, why be distressed because others are disputing about the nature and character of the shell ? If,—as you well know is the fact, ‘the entire mystery of life finds in the Gospel its centre, and only solution; if the longing, and ques- tioning, and seeking of every man’s inner spirit, finds there its simple fulfilment and answer;’ is it either absurd or unreason- able to rest satisfied, that, whatever discre- pancies may exist, the teachings of the Holy Spirit ‘cannot have dropped and been lost’ 1 Gal. iv. 9. XV Cor, xivs 22 82 CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. through the sieve of erring human com- position.’ * “ Grievous, indeed is it, that any sensible man should talk about the inspiration of the Scriptures being of the same kind, as the inspiration of the poet or the painter. Sad folly at the best. But let us not forget, wm justice and charity,—for a Christian can never afford to dispense with. either of these graces,—that many who speak thus, refer only to the mode, or philosophy of inspiration, of which, in fact, neither they nor we know anything. Do not, therefore, let us confound these ‘erring brethren,’ with men who un- scrupulously assert, that the evangelists are unworthy of credit,—that the words of Christ are not ‘the words of eternal life, —that the apostolic epistles have no claim to be re- garded as authoritative expositions of the Christian faith. The former, may. grieve us much, and deeply, but we have no right to denounce them, either as infidels or apos- tates; the latter, may lawfully excite our Stier. CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. 83 indignation, for they are the enemies of God, and of human happiness. “T may be told, and perhaps truly, that great differences can be observed between the teaching of the Apostle Paul in the earlier, and later periods of his life; that at the one, —the earlier period, he evidently expects the immediate return of Christ, speaking of him- self as if he would certainly be ‘alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord ;’ while at a later period, he discovers that ‘ mortality must first be swallowed up of life’—that the gospel of the cross is better than the gospel of the coming, and that a Christian’s desire should rather be, ‘to depart and to be with Christ,’ than to wait ‘for the advent of the Son from heaven.’ “T may be further assured, as I am by some eminent persons, that this discrepancy in thought and feeling, should be regarded as indicating the growth, of the Apostle in the divine life; that his first ideas were Jewish, his last Christian; that in the former, he preached Christ ‘after the flesh,’ in the latter, 84 CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. ‘after the. Spirit”? And I may, without doubt, infer from all this, either that St. Paul’s inspiration was very defective, or that he who writes thus about the Apostle is, notwithstanding his profession and charac- ter, no better than an infidel. “But I do not myself see the necessity of adopting either alternative ; since I have, on other grounds, good reason for believing, that Paul is unimpeachable, and that his critic is a true Christian. It seems to me much bet- ter,—if there be this seeming contradiction, which is by no means very clear,—to con- clude, that as Christ himself when on earth, kept back many things from his disciples, because they were not able to bear them, so the Holy Spirit deferred the revelation of that long delay which was to take place, before the actual return of Christ in person, until time had accustomed believers to live under the influence of the Invisible, and further instruction had enabled them to un- derstand, that ‘ One day is with the Lord as a * Jowett on the “ Epistle to the Thessalonians.” CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. ~*~ 85 thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. “T have now, perhaps, said enough to show you the way in which I accustom myself to look at modern criticisms on the Bible, how- ever startling ; and you will see that, far from implying doubt, it proceeds altogether on an assured confidence, that the Scripture can- not be shaken; that inquiry, however free, must tend to strengthen its defences; that courage, not cowardice, becomes the soldiers of the cross.”’ “Do not think me captious,”’ replied the other, “if, while admitting the force of what you have said, I still think that this method of treating error fails, when applied to specu- lations on so vital a subject as the atonement of Christ; to say nothing of the sacraments, or of the doctrines of election, and final retri- bution, all of which are now largely explained away.” “T have no objection,’’ rejoined his friend, “to tell you frankly, how I apply the great 1 2 Pet. iii. 8. H 2 86 CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. principle which I have all along been advo- cating, to every one of the doctrines in ques- tion, as I am quite satisfied that the course I adopt, where it can be honestly taken, tends greatly to promote peace and joy in believing ; but since minds differ as widely as faces, J am far from judging those who feel unable to follow my example. “Take first, if you will, the doctrine of the ATONEMENT. “T set out, then, with a settled conviction, that with regard to this important truth, viewed simply as a revealed fact, there is no room, even for a doubt, as to the testimony of Scripture. To its necessity, the Christian consciousness also bears its infallible witness ; for what renewed heart does not feel its guilty alienation from God and holiness, and its need of a mediator? But I am bewildered, the moment I attempt to speculate about the method of reconciliation,—to settle the phi- losophy of it, or to decide on the precise extent of the benefit it confers. “T reason, therefore, thus with myself. IRf CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. 87 I believe that ‘ Christ died for my sins accord- ing to the Scriptures,’’ I shall surely appre- ciate the blessings of his redemption, whether theologians rule, that the intent of that great ‘sacrifice,’ was to win me to God, or to recon- cile God to me. Is Christ less my ‘Surety,’ if it be denied that he literally bore the exact punishment of my sin? Am I still exposed to the ‘curse’ of God, if the dying Lamb on Calvary, was the object, not of wrath, but of divine complacency, when thus exhibiting ‘obedience unto death ?’ Did He fail to carry my ‘sorrows,’ if the agony of Gethsemane was but the struggle of a holy soul, resisting ‘unto blood’ against the temptation to avoid the cross? Is his death less mysterious, or less glorious, if the exclamation, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ be interpreted simply as intended to indicate, for the comfort of the sorrowing disciples, the true meaning of that Messianic and finally triumphant psalm, of which it forms the initial verse, and in which they would find the explanation of all they * 1 Cotsxy.. 3: 88 CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. witnessed ?? I cannot for a single moment admit of such a supposition. Answer these, or a thousand similar questions, as you may, my need is the same, and my sense of Christ’s sufficiency is the same. The great doctrine of salvation by faith in the atoning Lamb of * “T am much delighted and instructed by the hypothesis, which I think probable, that our Lord, in repeating Zi, Eli, lama Sabacthani, really recited the whole or a large part of the 22nd Psalm. It is impossible to read that psalm without the liveliest feelings of love, gratitude, and sympathy. It is, indeed, a wonderful prophecy, whatever might or might not have been David’s notion when he composed it. Whether Christ did audibly repeat the whole or not, it is certain, I think, that he did it mentally, and said aloud, what was sufficient to enable his followers to do the same. Even at this day, to repeat in the same manner but the first line of a common hymn, would be understood as a reference to the whole. Above all, I am thankful for the thought which suggested itself to my mind, whilst I was reading this beautiful psalm, namely, that we should not exclusively think of Christ as the Logos united to human nature, but likewise as a perfect man united to the Logos. This distinction is most important in order to conceive, much more, appropriately to feel, the conduct and exertions of Jesus.” —Coleridge. CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. 89 God, is still to me, all that it ever was—joy and peace; and He, ‘the Propitiation, not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world.’ * “T know very well that many, when first awakened to a sense of the evil of sin, and to its penal consequences, can find peace only in such a contemplation of the cross of Christ as is involved in the thought, that He, as the substitute for the sinner, literally bore the penalty of our transgressions. But this is rather the result of particular teaching, than the natural impression left by Scripture. And if it be true, as it unquestionably 1s, that there are others, who ‘habitually dwell much more on the sad fact of their natural alienation from God, than of their exposure to his condemnation; who contemplate far more frequently the holiness and love of their heavenly Father, than his justice, or his threatenings;’ and who therefore only see in Calvary @ transcendant mystery, before which they bow with awe, rather than ‘rejoice ? 1 Johnii. 2. 90 CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. with trembling,’ am I obliged, if I partly sympathize, to abandon the cross? or to conclude that it is ‘made,’ ecther to them or me, ‘of none effect ?’ “T see no reason whatever why I should do so; nor can I consent for a moment, to stake the great verity of man’s redemption, on any particular mode of explaining, either the principle on which it rests, or the process by which it is accomplished. “The SacRAMENTS, as divine ordinances, are in like manner separable, and I think ought to be separated, from all human specu- lations as to their precise nature or efficacy. “‘ Nothing can be clearer than the com- mand, ‘ Go ye therefore and teach all nations, Baptizineé them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost;’? and there is not a missionary church in existence, which is not to this day, fulfilling the divine injunction. But Baptism, as ad- ministered to persons in a Christian land, is quite another question. Here our practice * Matt. xxviii. 19. ORITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. OF rests on mere inference; for it is a singular fact, that although the apostolic records stretch through a period of time, during which many thousands of children must have been born of Christian parents, and, like Timothy, have subsequently reached manhood, and been engaged in various de- partments of usefulness in the Church, not a hint is given of the baptism of any one of them, either as infants or adults; a circum- stance, which alone fully accounts for the diversities of opinion which still prevail among true Christians, in relation to this ordinance, and which might, one would think, at least teach charity with regard to such differences. “ Our Lord’s words to Nicodemus, as recorded in the third chapter of the Gospel by St. John,’ could not refer to Christian baptism, for it was not then instituted. Nicodemus evidently understood Christ to speak of an actual and existing rite, or he would not have been stumbled by the teach- ~ + John iii. 3—10. 92 CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. ing. He knew, well enough, what was meant by being ‘born of water and of the Spirit,’ for he was as familiar with the phrase ‘being born again,’ as with any other ordi- nary Jewish term; but he could not under- stand how such a process as the new birth could be needful for a Jew, or a father in Israel, and therefore he exclaims—still sus- taining the figure—‘ How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb, and be born ?’ To suppose that Nicodemus ever imagined our Lord to mean that he must literally be- come an infant again, is simply to take for granted, either that he was totally unac- quainted with metaphorical language, or else, hopelessly stupid. “The ordinance of tHE Lorp’s SUPPER stands on somewhat different ground. It was appointed by our Lord himself, just before his departure, and distinctly enforced by the command, ‘This do in remembrance of me;’! and St. Paul, subsequently in- 1 [Luke xxii. 19. CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. 93 structed by special revelation, as to its true nature and character, tells us, that in eating this bread and drinking this cup, we ‘shew the Lord’s death,’—not for a time only, but ‘till he come.’ * “So far all is clear. But now human in- ferences come in, and the question arises, whether such passages as those which are found in the sixth chapter of John are to be regarded as referring to the Supper P “ That they could have any direct connec- tion with this ordinance seems impossible, for no such rite then existed. But they certainly throw light on the words,—‘ Take, eat : this is my body,® for they show us that, long before the institution of the Supper, the Jews were perfectly acquainted with the meaning of such phrases as ‘ living bread,’—‘ bread’ that is ‘ flesh,’—‘ flesh’ that is ‘meat indeed,’— and ‘drink’ that is ‘blood indeed,’ and therefore were in no danger of being misled by the use of figurative language. “Men may indeed assume, as the Romanist ! 1 Cor. xi. 26. 2 John vi. 47-66. 94 CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. does, that the Jews understood Christ lite- rally, and in the ordinary sense of the words, to say, that they must feed on Him, as the heathen, in his lowest estate, does upon his captive; and that, in consequence of such an impression, ‘many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it ?’ “The common sense of mankind is insulted by such interpretations of Scripture; they only serve to make the New Testament an object of ridicule to the scorner. Nothing can be plainer, than that the Jews clearly comprehended our Lord’s phraseology, and were indignant at, what they considered, the blasphemous assumption of a man who could teach, that all spiritual life centered in himself. ‘The Jews therefore strove among themselves ’—as the apostles often did, when they were similarly perplexed—saying, ‘ How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ and ‘from that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.’ * 2 John vi. 47—66. CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. 95 “Whatever difference of opinion, how- ever, may exist, as to the precise meaning of our Lord, when he said, ‘ This is my body,’ there can be none, one would think, as to the fact, that the Supper was originally a family or social, rather than a congregational, ordinance. “ Tt was instituted in an upper room, and in connection with a social, though religious act—that of eating the Passover. It was taken, after Pentecost, not in the temple, although the first Christians continued there ‘daily with one accord,’ nor yet in the syna- gogues, but ‘from house to house;* and St. Paul, rebuking the Corinthians for their abuse of the ordinance, tells them plainly, that when they all ‘come together into one place,’? ‘this is not’ (the proper time) ‘ to eat the Lord’s Supper; or, as it reads in the margin of our Bibles, they ‘ cannot’ (properly, then) ‘ eat it.’ “The reason is obvious; they could not then sit round one table as equals, and com- 1 Acts ii. 46. ae) Cor. kin 20: 96 CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. mune together, but were obliged to make the act individual, rather than social. Hence, he adds, ‘houses,’ not the church, are the proper places to eat and drink in, hinting, plainly enough, at the reason which had led them to transfer the supper from the house to thechurch; they did not liketoreceivethe poor, as equals, at their own tables. ‘ Despise ye,’ he says, ‘the church of God, and shame them that are poor?’ And then he tells them how, and for what ends, the Lord first insti- tuted the Supper, and warns them against trifling, by unauthorized change, or by an ir- religious spirit, with so sacred an ordinance ; since, taken irreverently, it could only be to their condemnation, and bring upon them, as proofs of the Divine anger, those temporal punishments which the Lord, ‘walking in the midst of the churches,’ then inflicted upon Christians who, by their conduct, im- paired the purity of the Christian faith: ‘ For this cause, he says, ‘many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep, ' 1 Cor. xi. 22, marginal rendering. CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. 97 “ ¢ Wherefore,’ adds the Apostle, ‘when ye come together to eat,’ (do so, as one body,) ‘tarry one for another ;’? but do not degrade the rite into a mere ordinary meal. Let each satisfy the natural cravings of hunger, apart from this religious act; and when ye come together, wherever it may be, to fulfil the Saviour’s command, let the Holy Supper be taken ‘socially, religiously, and symboli- cally. “‘ How this simple rite first became trans- formed into a Church Service, and then was made the sole basis of discipline, 1 must leave others to explain. Everybody knows that in the Ancient Church, offenders were excluded, not from the Lord’s Supper only, but from public worship altogether. “The doctrine of EnEcTion, again, is, in my estimation as much as in yours, an wn- questionably revealed fact ; but it is not the less, on that account, a truth far transcend- ing human explanation. I believe, as firmly as you do, that the Redeemer has an elect people upon the earth; that some of them Tia 98 CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. are even now, vesting in his love, that others, are struggling with evil as for life, and that others, are undistinguishable in the crowd; but since I am quite unable to reconcile such an exercise of divine sovereignty, with my human, and therefore limited, conceptions of what is necessary to equality of dealing, I can bear with the incredulity of those who, like Thomas, say, ‘ Unless evidence that is irresistible be forced upon me, I will not believe.’ “For myself, I am not much concerned to solve the mystery; for I have long lived under the inconsistency, if it be such, of being firmly persuaded that I am most justly responsible, both for my belief and conduct, although I am quite unable to see how any creature, so dependent as I am, can fairly be subjected to such a fearful condition. of ex- istence. “Tn vain, therefore, am I told, that belief in anything like an eternal choice, ‘ binds all things fast in fate,’ and necessarily supposes the eternal ruin of those who are not, in this CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. 99 sense, the objects of Divine favour; for I simply deny the conclusion, and fall back on the words of Jesus, ‘ With man,’ any other inference may be ‘impossible, but ‘with God all things are possible.’ “Nor is this mode of finding mental repose at all inconsistent with reason. We say of miracles, and justly, that they are not, pro- perly speaking, violations of the ordinary laws of nature, but revelations, betokening the existence of higher and more comprehen- sive laws than those under which we ordi- narily live. Why may not the same thing be true in relation to thought, and so appa- rent contradictions in Scripture, be nothing more than glimpses of higher truths, not at all difficult to harmonize with lower ones in the view of superior intelligences? The logic of Weaven, like its laws, may, perhaps, be found higher and more comprehensive than that of earth. “What, if God should have chosen his elect under the Gospel, as He chose Israel of old under a preceding dispensation ?—only 100 CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. the more wonderfully ‘to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.’* For ‘ Thus saith the Lord God; Ido not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake. Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord God, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.’? What, if He that ‘loved’ his people, and ‘washed them from their sins in his own blood, and made them kings and priests unto God and his Father,’* should have done this, only to make them, in other states of existence, as well as in this, co-workers with Him in elevating that vast multitude— how vast the human mind cannot conceive, nor its arithmetic calculate,—who, whether heathen, or nominally Christian, have not, on earth, so heard the message of mercy, as to have, in any truthful sense of the word, either accepted or rejected it? What, if ‘He that overcometh and keepeth Christ’s works unto the end’ shall really have ‘power over the * Psa. cxly. 12. 7 Ezek. xxxvis 22,32. 3 Rev. i. 5, 6. CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. 101 nations ?’?1 What, if to one, it shall indeed, and literally, be said, ‘Thou good servant ; because thou hast been faithful im a very little, have thou authority over ten cities ; and to another, ‘Be thou also over five cities ?’? What, I say, if all these things should be, not figuratively, but literally true, —is the word of God made of none effect ? Is the Gospel overthrown ? or purgatory es- tablished ? or the doctrine of election frittered away? ‘O fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold ?’* ‘O slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!’ * “Whatever may be the true way of look- ing at the doctrine of election, one thing at least is certain, Christ came ‘to destroy the works of the devil;’?*® the world will not therefore terminate, with the destruction of Christ’s work by the devil. When Heaven echoes with the cry, ‘The Lamb and his thou- 1 Rev. ii. 26. 5 Matt. xxiii. 17. 3 Luke xix. 19. * Luke xxiv. 25. > 1 John iii. 8. 102 CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. sands,’ Hell will not be able to respond, ‘Satan and his tens of thousands.’ “Explain it as we may, it is impossible that any election of God can be capricious, or arbitrary, or for the benefit only of a few. ‘Chosen of God, and precious,’ ! the Church, like its Lord, certainly is; but it can only be 80, when viewed from the standing point of Christ,—as ‘living,’ whether in heaven or on earth, ‘not unto itself, but unto Him who died for it; living, to carry on a work, which angels might envy, and to enter into a joy, which even they, can but partially under- stand. No two things can, in my opinion, be more dissimilar, than the doctrine of elec- tion, as revealed in Scripture, and the doc- trine of election as frequently laid down by theologians. The rejection of the one, there- fore, by no means necessarily supposes the rejection of the other. “So also with regard to Fururr Rerri- BUTION. Where will you find a doctrine which is so universally sustained by consciousness 74 Pet i. 7 Matt. xxv. 23. CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. 108 as this P—proclaimed, I had almost said, by Nature herself in pestilence and earthquake, in thunder and in storm; written in all his- tory, whether of the individual or of the race ; at one time playing, as in letters of flame, on the walls of a tyrant’s palace, at another, appearing to the captive like an angel of God, causing his chains to fall, and his prison doors to open. But this consciousness of its truth departs, the moment we begin to dis- pute on the nature, extent, and duration of punishments which, like the joys of heaven, are wisely and mercifully concealed under symbol and metaphor. “The word Eternal, as applied in Scrip- ture either to joy or sorrow, may, as one has recently argued, be intended to indicate the grief or rapture of the world to come, as op- posed to that of the life that now is, rather than to express mere endlessness of duration ; for eternity and all that relates to it, is far above human comprehension, and can never be explained in the phraseology of earth. But ts Hell not, therefore, a reality ? 104 CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. “¢ Destruction’ and ‘ death,’ with which the wicked are so often threatened in the New Testament, may mean, as Irenzeus and many of the primitive Christians thought, some- thing very different from endless life in misery ; but does it thence follow that God has no Penal inflictions for the impenitent ? “The phrase, ‘the worm that never dies,’ as used by our Lord according to St. Mark, may find its true interpretation, not in ever- lasting agony of conscience, but, in what it far more naturally indicates, the corruption of the entire man; for Isaiah, in the very passage from which the figure is taken, so applies it; when speaking of the ‘carcases’ of the men that have transgressed against God, he says, not of souls, but of dead bodies, ‘their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an ab- horring to all flesh ;’1 but zs the Punishment of Unbelievers, therefore, slight or short ? * Isa. Ixvi. 24. An allusion to Gehenna, or the valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem, where sacrifices were offered to Moloch; in abhorrence of which, Josiah ordered all the CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. 105 “The rude conceptions of a barbarous age, unhappily enshrined in the immortal verse of Dante and of Milton, may be, as indeed they are, but the offspring of minds diseased by solitude and celibacy, and skilfully turned to account by covetousness and tyranny, but does it thence follow that Future Punish- ment is but another word for self-reproach, or, at least, only an expression indicating, in some other way, the working out of the great natural laws under which we live? By no means. Yet such it soon becomes, under the influence of re-action, after listening to vulgar and exaggerated descriptions of mere physical tortures. “ And, surely, of all the painful sights that affect the spiritual eye in the Church itself, ordure of the city to be thrown there, with the carcases of dead dogs and dead men’s bones. Dead bodies were from time to time thrown there. These putrefying, produced worms and other vermin; to prevent any fatal consequences from which, fire was kept continually burning. (See 2 Kings xxiii. 10; Jer. vii. 31,32; xix. 13; Mark ix. 44.) Bishop Wilson, Holden, and others. kK 106 CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. none is sadder than this, to see, as one too often does, good men unconsciously yielding to the influence of the unreal or the selfish, contending with eagerness for the immor- tality of evil, and the endless misery of almost all mankind; sometimes, no doubt, doing this under an honest dread, lest they should be found making the contrast between life and death, salvation and con- demnation, less terrible than God has made it in the Scriptures ; sometimes, it is to be feared, saying in their hearts, like the Jew of apostolic days, ‘If the heathen can be saved, what advantage then hath the Christian ?’ “ Who can wonder that, amid such reason- ings, often seen and felt to be present, though unexpressed in words, the thought should arise, in men’s minds, that God is fearfully misrepresented by Christians,—that religious belief has a vast deal of wnreality about it? “Ts it surprising that, in sight of such in- consistencies, the great Truth itself, to which God is continually bearing such striking 1 Rom. iii. 1. CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. 107 witness, should frequently lose its hold on the human mind, and individuals and nations alike forget, that for the deeds done in the body, whether good or bad, we must all give account before the judgment seat of Christ ? “You and I, my dear friend, may fail to reconcile ‘few stripes’! with ‘the lake of fire,’ * but conscience itself bears witness, that under any conditions, it must, to a delibe- rately impenitent and rebellious man, be ‘a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.’* Human speculations on such a subject, undertaken either to satisfy a rest- less curiosity, or to confirm uncharitable judgments, will, of course, always end, as they ought to end, in disappointment and confusion ; for much, if not all, that pertains to the nature, extent, and application of either joy or sorrow in futurity, is wisely hidden from mortal eye; but nothing can shake the certainty of a Christian man’s persuasion, that ‘all must stand before the bar of God,’ and that each will receive ac- * Luke xii. 48. ? Rev. xx. 14. ? Heb. x. 31. 108 CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. cording to his works. Enough is it for us to be assured, that the Divine dealings with the creature, can never be inconsistent either with equity or love; that ‘He knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are but dust ;?? and that, in relation to all worlds, and all possible circumstances, it is better to fall into the hands of God than into the hands of man.° “The permissive Power given to Satan to introduce evil at all into the world, and, by it, through long ages, apparently to thwart the Divine purposes, by impeding the pro- gress of Christ’s kingdom, is certainly a great mystery. But it is not for ever to be a mystery, for it will one day be ‘finished,’ as God ‘hath declared to his servants the prophets.’ When that blessed time arrives, it will doubtless be seen, that it was better that sin should come into the world, for without it, men could not have fully known and estimated good. 1 Rev. xx. 13. 3 2 Sam. xxiv. 14. 2 Psa. cil. 14. 4 Rev, x. 6, CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. 109 “ How little must Satan have suspected, as, with boundless malice, he tempted our first parents with the words, ‘Ye shall not surely die,’ —‘ Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil,’ that he was but uttering an unconscious prophecy of that which should really come to pass! How little did he imagine, that in this knowledge of evil, lay hidden a higher knowledge of good than could otherwise be attained; and that the very process, by which he hoped to alienate man for ever from his Maker, was the one, by means of which, man was to be brought nearer than ever to his Maker;—to rise higher than the angels that never fell, and to ex- hibit to the universe, the sublime spectacle of a life of faith, based on a thorough appreciation of good, as distinguished from evil, and of God, as the fountain of all excellence ! “But leaving particular doctrines, let us once more revert to a great general prin- ciple. “Every man, I believe, is more or less K 2 110 CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. convinced of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment by the Divine Spirit ; for none sin innocently, or without some knowledge, how- ever faint or feeble, of good and evil. The preacher of the Gospel has, therefore, always something to build upon, and ought not to feel, that under any circumstances, he is called to preach to dead men, or ‘dry bones.’ “This ‘conviction,’ however, is not ‘con- version.’ It still remains true, ‘Except a man be born again,’—born from above,— born of the Spirit,—‘he cannot discern the kingdom of God.’ Now, whenever this great change takes place in any man, two things follow; first, he becomes conscious, of the truthfulness and practical bearing of all those portions of Divine revelation, the re- ception of which is essential to ‘life and godliness.’ He has the ‘witness of the Spirit,’ ‘the anointing that abideth.’ In these mat- ters, he ‘needs not that any man teach’ him, for the ‘same anointing teacheth’ him ‘ of all things, and is truth, and is no lie.” Hence CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. 111 seducers cannot finally lead a true Christian astray, for he abides in Christ.’ “But secondly, like other men, he is left to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.? This growth, of course, depends on moral and spiritual health; which again, like health of body, depends on food, exercise, and func- tional vigour,—in other words, on sound teaching, activity m doing good, and moral elevation. Sectarianism, uncharitableness, self-interest, spiritual pride, worldliness, pre- judice, narrowness of soul,—as opposed to what the Apostle calls enlargement,’—un- truthfulness, bigotry, and such like—are the great hindrances. “The field for this growth, so far as Divine revelation is concerned, is obviously all those portions of the Word of God respecting which the consciousness of the renewed soul eannot fairly be brought to bear; those portions, respecting which good men in all * Compare 1 John ii, 27 and John xv. 7. 2 2 Pet. iii. 18. * 2 Cor. vi. 13. 112 ORITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. ages have been, and, probably, ever will be, divided. Hence it is, that to class our human interpretations of religious truth, our inferences from it, or owr formulas in expressing it, however honoured by time or authority, with the great revealed facts on which such truth alone rests, is to sap the foundation of all intelligent belief, and to betray the Gospel with a kiss. It is so, because it confounds the essential with the unessential, makes both doubtful, and so de- stroys all hope of attaining to certainty in religious truth. “But certainty,—so far as it relates to everything essential,—far from being unat- tainable, is the privilege of every true Chris- tian; for without it, there can neither be growth nor repose. In the absence of it, faith is little more than an opinion—an opinion sustained, possibly, by the highest eyi- dence, but still only an opinion, and, as such, always open to reconsideration. If this were not the Divine order of things, he would be the firmest believer who enjoyed the greatest CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. Ps advantages for obtaining and weighing proofs ; truth would be the property of the few; and the multitude, if they believed at all, could only do so on the authority of those who were favoured with opportunities for research. “But the very reverse of all this is the fact. The doubter, is commonly the man of high attainment, of cultivated understanding, of varied learning. The peaceful and happy believer, is he who has the witness in himself, and who cuts through the web of all sophistry, with the simple exclamation, I know it, and feel it to be true. “This witness, however, as I have again and again said, has its limits; it pertains only to things essential to life and godliness. It instinctively recognizes a Divine fact, but turns aside from merely deduced conclusions; for these form the appropriate field for the exercise of that candour and charity, which is so important a part of our moral discipline, but which, alas! is so rarely cultivated in theo- logical discussion. The reason undoubtedly is, that as soon as we leave essential truths, 114 ORITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. we enter the region devoted to party, and come in contact with prejudices and interests, far dearer to most men than truth itself. We all know, that he who differs, however slightly, from the party to which he belongs, is always disliked ; it is the penalty which he is obliged to pay for loving truth above all other things. “And now, perhaps, you will be able to understand me when I say, that changes in human opinion, relative, even to Divine things, like offences, ‘must come, for they are essential, in a world like this, to life and progress. Everything around and about us is changing continually; we ourselves change every particle of our material frames during only seven years of our existence; yet we live, for we are renewed day by day, by Him who made us. ‘Our affections also change. The friendships of the man are not the friendships of the boy. Our very selves are altering. The basis of our being may remain, but our views, tastes, feelings, are no more our former self, than CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. 115 the oak is the acorn.’ Science changes. The chemist of to-day, has but little in com- mon with the chemist of former times; yet no law of nature is altered. Economics— social and political—change; yet society is undisturbed. Theology, whether we choose to believe it or not, changes too; but of this branch of human science—for it is nothing more—it may emphatically be said, ‘ Woe unto him by whom the change cometh’— sometimes truly so, because he_ needlessly occasions weak ones to stumble and fall; but more frequently, because, like the great Mas- ter, he endangers the authority of Scribes and Pharisees. “ Greatly is it to be regretted, that at such periods, the torture, even of the good, cannot always be avoided, in separating the chaff from the wheat. How often did devout, but timid souls, tremble, and suffer in silence, during the progress of the reformation from Popery! How much must they have questioned and shrunk from! How much must they, very properly, have condemned! It may be so 116 CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. again, with many tender and loving hearts. Perhaps the work that has to be done, even in our own day, cannot be accomplished without a sword piercing through the soul of the Church itself, ‘that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.’ “ Nor is alarm, under such circumstances, so unreasonable, as it may at first sight appear; for changes, even in the form of expressing religious truth, bring dangers in their train. It is not always easy to separate, facts and inferences which have grown up together; nor can even a philosophy, which has long intertwined itself with the deepest and most sacred of human beliefs, be modified or overthrown without pain or peril. No wonder that many should say, ‘Let both grow together until the harvest.’ “But can nothing be said on the other side? Is it not equally true, that such changes, always indicate the stirrings of new life; and that the men, for whom old truths in new forms, acquire force and freshness, are the very men, by whose earnest pleadings, CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. 117 intellectual slumberers are most likely to be aroused, thoughtful gainsayers convinced, and dead souls quickened? Are they not gene- rally, the men whom God raises up, fo rescue, in days of general profession, ‘ admitted truths, from the neglect caused by the very circumstance of their universal admission ?’— to remove deep-seated prejudice,—to correct false and distorted views of the Gospel,—to woo and win wanderers, from the slippery paths of infidelity ? “Let us not, then, however apparently pure may be the motive, sanction for a moment, any attempt to injure the reputation, or assail the piety of persons who, whatever may be their faults or errors, are at least honestly endeavouring, according to the light vouchsafed unto them, to do their part, for the advancement of truth and goodness in the earth. Rather let us thank God for every agency, by which He brings a sin- ner out of self into Christ, not doubting that the ¢rue-hearted, if in error, will, in due time, be led into the way of God 7 118 ORITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. more perfectly. But I fear I have wearied you.”’ “Far from that,’’ responded the young man, “I am deeply interested; and with much of what you have stated I cordially concur. The only doubt that remains on my mind is, whether you sufficiently esti- mate the value of objective truth; whether, in your desire to exalt the religion of the heart, you do not undervalue doctrines which, in those old and hallowed forms of thought which are now called in question, have so often been made powerful to the pulling down of the strongholds of sin and Satan.” “You forget, I think, that it was simply a doctrine, and in human vestments, too,— that of justification by faith, as exhibited by Luther, that shook the Papacy, and re- volutionized Europe at the Reformation ; tiiat it was the same doctrine, in the hands of Wesley and Whitefield, that redeemed England in the last century from a state of spiritual barbarism; and that in the strength of this truth alone, as expounded by St. Paul CRITICISM AND CONTROVERSY. 119 to the Romans, a single individual,’ although only able to communicate to his hearers through an interpreter, was enabled to lay the foundation of a great evangelical revival among the continental churches. “Should you think me very unreasonable, if I were to ask you to devote one more evening, to look at the subject in this par- ticular aspect ?”’ ‘* Not at all,’ said his friend; “I shall be happy to do so.” With this understanding they again sepa- rated. * Mr. Robert Haldane. uv ? , elt) he a ae EE Sts ben Be a SMEG ESE Objectibe Cruth and Inner wife. “The concentration of Christianity as it were, upon the inward life, derived from union with Christ, seems to be the province of Christian truth, especially occupied by the beloved disciple. He unites the internal with the external revelation, and never lets one supersede the other.”—Howrs with the Mystics. L 2 CHAPTER IV. HE friends had now met for the last time. The elder commenced the conversation by observing,—“In the all but exclusive importance ordinarily attached to doctrine, as the great agent employed in bringing about either the Reformation, or subse- quent religious revivals, we fall into serious error. “Facts,” said he, “certainly do not sus- tain such a supposition. ‘The suddenness and rapidity of the Reformation,’ observes Merle D’Aubigné, ‘is inexplicable on the 124 OBJECTIVE TRUTH theory of those, who make that great event simply an act of critical judgment, consisting in a choice of doctrines,—the abandoning of some, the preserving others, and combining those retained, so as to make of them a new code of doctrine. How could an entire people—how could many nations, have so rapidly performed so difficult a work? How could such an act of critical judg- ment kindle the enthusiasm indispensable to great, and especially to sudden revolutions ? The Reformation was an event of a very different kind; and this its history will prove. Jt was the pouring forth anew of that life, which Christ had brought imto the world,’ * “ Doctrine, indeed, there was, as a weapon of warfare; for that of justification by faith alone, was perpetually wielded in the long contest with ‘hierarchism, or the religion of the priest;’ but even this glorious truth, when separated—as it soon came to be—from life and love, hardened into a mere formula, 1 “ History of Reformation,” Preface to 5th Svo. edition. AND INNER LIFE. 125 and ended in nothing better than a cold and dead Protestantism. “ It was the awakening of great elementary principles, from the slumber of centuries, that aroused the nations; and the work was ac- complished, not by dissertations on theology, or by the promulgation of the soundest systems of belief, but by the breaking forth upon mankind of the wondrous energies of one poor monk, whose intense inner life, no longer capable of being restrained within the limits of a single bosom, overflowed, like a mighty river, and fertilized all around. “It was thus, too, with Wesley and White- field. In doctrines, by no means unimportant, they differed widely. But in power—the power of the Holy Spirit over the hearts and consciences of men—they were alike; for no- thing could resist the force of their appeals, or the fervour of their charity. And these sprang, not from any form of sound words, however excellent, but from that intense spiritual force, which was generated in them by the Holy Ghost, and which compelled 126 OBJECTIVE TRUTH each of them to say, like the Apostle, ‘Woe is me if I preach not the Gospel.’ “ Nor was the case different, in that later revival of religion on the continent of Europe, to which you have adverted. The man who was anxious to dispose of his whole estate, that he might devote himself to the spread of Christianity in India, was burning with other thoughts than those that occupy the scientific theologian, and the influence he ex- ercised over those who heard him, was higher far than any that could spring from the skill of the logician. His, too, was the power of an inner life, that magnetized, and was irresistible. “Not one of these men, in the vigour of their days, or rather, in the freshness of their first love, fell back upon a philosophy of religion, or regarded anything, beyond the plain teaching of Scripture, as worthy of their consideration. In all of them, the great dis- tinguishing feature was LIFE,—intense spi- ritual life,—leading to the concentration of all their faculties on the primary fucts of the AND INNER LIFE. 127 Gospel, as explained and illustrated by the apostles alone. “That they all held, in the main, that general outline of revealed truth which is distinguished as Evangelical, none will dis- pute ; but that outline, at the time of which I speak, had not been fashioned in their minds, into a stern theological system. They were distinguished from other men, not by their creed—for this, in all its detail, was held by multitudes who had not the slightest sympathy with their proceedings—but by the aboundings of their spiritual life ; a force which was equally influential, whether as- sociated, as in Whitefield, with doctrines dreaded by many good men as Antinomian, or mingled, as in Wesley, with views, re- garded by others, as legal or obscure; for whatever might be the peculiarities of their creed, they took care, that the great facts of human sinfulness and of Divine redemption, were not clouded by deductions which, whether right or wrong, had little or no influence on the heart. 128 OBJECTIVE TRUTH “Tt is not so with us. Living, as we do, at a period when the inner life is all but lost sight of, in the incessant demand for outward action, and when, with feverish haste, the pulse of spiritual existence beats rapidly and feebly in the best, creeds are everything ; sound doctrine, if not itself regarded as life, is always spoken of as the parent of life, and departure from it, however slight, is stig- matized as the sure precursor of spiritual decay. With it, we too often attempt to galvanize the dead; without it, we refuse to recognize any among the living. “ Far, however, from thinking, as you seem disposed to imagine, that our beliefs are unim- portant, I regard them as lying at the root of conduct, and doubt not that, for the most part, they control it. Yet I cannot even seem to ad- mit, that the mere reception of sound doctrine will, either immediately or ultimately, ensure sound practice. All such assertions—and I know they are made by many excellent per- sons—proceed on a total forgetfulness of the power of habit, of the weakness of the will, AND INNER LIFE. 129 and, above all, of the complex character of our mental and moral emotions. “The faith that rules the heart and guides the life, is not an opinion, however sound, nor yet a conviction, however firm, but a direct work of the Spirit of God on the soul of man. “Hence the importance of asking, not merely what a man believes, but how he believes it—in what temper of mind, and with what combinations—and this, I think, is best ascertained, by observing what is the practical result of his faith, on his daily ‘ walk and conversation.’ I have no right to sup- pose either my own, or any other man’s faith to be of the Spirit, unless it brings forth ‘the fruits of the Spirit, which are love, and joy, and peace’? in the Holy Ghost. “The orthodoxy which is untroubled, when its advocacy genders strife and ill will among the good; which sustains itself by untruth- ful or uncandid inferences; which defends, even the right, fiercely and unscrupulously ; which alarms prejudice, or excites animosity, | Matt. vii. 20, and Phil. i. 27. 2. Gal: y¥. 22) M 130 OBJECTIVE TRUTH when it should weigh and consider; which destroys the reputation of an adversary with pleasure, and rejoices in iniquity, if it pro- cure his fall,—is an orthodoxy, which, however garnished with Gospel phraseology, however devout or dogmatic, has some strange affinities with the Prince of Darkness, and may well doubt whether it cometh from above or from beneath. “Christian people are prone to forget this, or they would not so often speak and act, as if heavenly truth could be defended by weapons dipped in hell; nor would they so obviously walk in the footsteps of Antichrist, retaining ‘the index,’ but changing the books ; ostracizing where they dare not slay, and crushing, though not in ‘ the boot.’ “No one holds more firmly than I do to the supremacy of Scripture,—to its exclusive claim to be regarded as a revelation from God. But I no more believe that. this supremacy can be secured by moral pressure, than by physical force ; I think it as wicked, ' 1 Cor, xiii. 6. AND INNER LIFE. 181 to support it by the tongue of calumny, as by the torture of fire: nor can I respect the cowardice which, fearing lest its faith should be. shaken by the first breath of criticism, trembles, when it ought to trust, flies, when it ought to face, and condemns without inquiry, lest, peradventure, its indolent re- ‘pose should be disturbed, even by the true.” “Far be it from me,’ replied his friend, “to plead for, or to defend, the uncharitable- ness you so justly denounce. I have no faith in any mode of sustaining truth, which does not add to its evidence. I fear there is but too much cause to apprehend, that many good people, in the present day, are as in- tolerant, though not as bloodthirsty, as their Romanist forefathers. But you should not associate so grievous a reproach, with anxiety to preserve untouched ‘the faith once de- livered to the saints.’ Hvyangelicals may be, as I fear they too often are, narrow, bigotted, harsh, and pharisaical ; but evangelical truth, even to its minutest point, is directly the reyerse, being eminently favourable to every- 132 OBJECTIVE TRUTH thing that is large-hearted, candid, and bene- volent.”’ 9 “ Not necessarily so,’’ rejoined the other; “only when held in its due proportions. No man can be large-hearted, who attaches the same degree of importance to every truth he believes to be revealed. No man can either be candid or loving, who regards an inference, drawn from any statement in Scripture,— however inevitable he may consider that in- ference to be,—as of equal authority with the inspired statement, from which it has been deduced. No man can afford to be benevolent in relation to opinion, who holds that salvation—so far, at least, as it is a promised blessing—is confined to persons holding, in the main, his own views. No man who is enslaved, however unconsciously, to the expressions and forms of any theological system, can be otherwise than narrow and intolerant, for slavery and freedom have no affinities. No man can manifest the spirit of the Gospel, who exalts the means above the end, by regarding the Gospel as some- AND INNER LIFE. 133 thing greater and holier than the sanctifica- tion it is intended to produce. Errors like these, bad enough in any form, become in- tolerable, when truth itself is narrowed to the views of a party, and dowbt as to any one point, is regarded as equivalent to the denial of the whole. “That such a form of Christianity may exist in connection with true piety, great activity, and a life of apparent devotedness to God, is certain. But it can only do so, at periods when the outward in religion dominates over the inward; when men are governed, by truths which they have inherited, rather than by those they have acquired; when religion itself, is recognized by the particular form, or creed, or garb under which it is endowed, or voluntarily sustained, rather than by its own native lineaments; when evidence of spiritual life, is sought and found, in effort rather than in love; when fidelity to truth is shown, by adhesion to its forms, rather than by the imbibing of its spirit; and when the difference between the world and the Church M 2 184 OBJECTIVE TRUTH is observable, rather in the character of their respective amusements, than in the tone and tendency of serious occupations, or daily duties. At such periods, when the secondary influences of Christianity overshadow its primary elements,—when zeal supersedes charity, and party spirit runs high, it is by no means uncommon, to find great piety accompanying extreme narrowness of soul, or to see religion exalted, at the expense of freedom and love; in such a period, I think, we live; ‘a period in which religion is mainly OBJECTIVE, and life intensely outward, —busy, restless, utilitarian; a period in which truth is but little loved for its own sake, al- though greatly valued for what it can effect ; a period, in short, when men are setae impatient of everything that cannot be shown to be immediately and obviously useful.’ a Time, we say, is too short,—the world is too busy,—there is too much to do, in en- deavours to make men happier and better,— to justify much expenditure of strength in the abstract pursuit either of truth or virtue. AND INNER LIFE. 135 Our forefathers laboured to eliminate sound views,—we have entered into their labours ; it is ours to carry into action that which they gained by long and lonely meditation. “ Such are, unquestionably, the current opinions of the day; and hence, we read books as we read newspapers, for immediate im- pression—as stimulants, not as food. Hence, we are angry, when called upon to justify any great principle on which we are acting, and. regard the man who questions its truth, as a hinderer of practical effort. The more vigorously he attacks a cherished opinion, especially if it be inherited from men ‘of whom the world was not worthy,’ the more intense is our adhesion to that opinion. Our hold of it, may be ‘acquiescence without in- sight,’—our faith in it, a ‘mere sensation of positiveness,’ substituted for that ‘calm as- surance, the very means and conditions of which it supersedes,’'—we are content to stick to our convictions, ‘as the limpet at- taches itself to the rock,’ and are only alarmed * Coleridge. 186 OBJECTIVE TRUTH by exhortations to leave hold, even for the purpose of being rooted and grounded in the truth. Is a great thought, the noblest thing on earth, born into the world ?—too often our only inquiry is, Cuz bono ?—what is it worth for immediate use?—how will it work? —how far will it interfere with that body of belief to which we are pledged ?—will it help us to heaven? If it will obviously do this, or if it can be made to support or strengthen existing activities, we readily give it all honour and welcome; but if its tendency appears to be otherwise—and especially if it seems to interfere with any recognized de- partment of modern effort, we ery, ‘Away with it, away with it! crucify it, crucify it!’ “And yet very little reflection would suf- fice to show, that our only question ought to be, Ls 2¢ true? assured, that if true, it must eventually be useful, in the highest sense of that term, although we may be at the moment, quite unable to discern its practical bearing, either on the duties of life, or the culture of the soul. AND INNER LIFE. 137 “This tendency to live in the outward, manifests itself still more strikingly, in the universal unwillingness which is felt, to dwell upon any form of evil for which we have not found, as we think, the appropriate remedy. Nothing, perhaps, is more painful and humi- liating, than to be obliged to stand, as it were, in utter helplessness, before the flood of human iniquity, as it steadily rolls on, and to feel that it is beyond control. We all shrink from such a trial of our faith, and instinc- tively take refuge in agencies, which, we readily persuade ourselves, will, ultimately if not immediately, arrest or absorb it. “That in so doing, we but follow one of the great laws of our being, is unquestionable ; for God intended us to be active, and has therefore placed us in circumstances, which demand incessant watchfulness, untiring labour, and hopeful ingenuity in device. But, like everything else, this tendency to do, may be cultivated in excess; and 7 is so, whenever it disinclines us from deep and 1388 OBJECTIVE TRUTH solitary thought; when it indisposes us to recognize our weakness ; and especially, when it causes us to shrink from contemplating things as they really are, and to feel irritated, rather than pensive, by the intrusion of any- thing like doubt as to final success. “ Hence it is, that we are so apt to quarrel with men who take, what we call, dark views as to the future ; that we are so apt to exag- gerate the importance of small influences ; that we accustom ourselves to take narrow and one-sided views, of almost everything ; that some among us actually maintain, that breadth of thought is unfavourable to decision of character ; that it is better to see one side of a subject clearly, than to have that wider knowledge of it, which so often induces self- distrust, and to some extent, perhaps, para- lyzes action. Hence it is, that in contro- versy, Scripture is so often quoted partially and unfairly,—that authority is made either to supersede, or to stand in place of evidence, —that party spirit is regarded, on the whole AND INNER LIFE. 1389 as a good,—that the influence of hasty, pre- judiced, and therefore positive writers is, in these days, paramount. “Tt cannot be otherwise, until the axe is laid at the root, and we come at length to believe, that wisdom is better than power, —that a true thought, is, in the end, stronger than anything else,—that practical, benefits, apparently the most important, are dearly purchased, if they are obtained by efforts which proceed on any false assumption, how- ever harmless it may seem,—that it is better to wait, and to wait long, if need be, in a state of inaction, than to advance on doubtful principles,—and that the most limited sphere of effort, if sustained by ‘wise and under- standing hearts,’ will, eventually, prove more fruitful of good to mankind, than the most extended enterprises which depend for their support on popular excitements, on ‘tinted’ statements, or on unwarranted expectations. “Tt would not be difficult to find illus- trations of the truth of these remarks, as - bearing on religious advancement, in all sec- 140 OBJECTIVE TRUTH tions of the Christian Church. Everywhere, confidence is felt, not in abstract truth, for that is little apprehended, but in active effort, seen and felt to be practically useful. And inasmuch as all Christian endeavours to do good are more or less associated with, if they do not directly spring from, the great doc- - trines of the Gospel, it is held to be far better to act, on what we are supposed to know, than to inquire into matters, of which we may be ignorant. “ Few, perhaps, deliberately and consciously separate meditation from action, but prac- tically, almost everybody does it; and so it comes to pass, amid many other contradic- tory things, that while the Bible is more widely circulated than ever, it is much less read than formerly, and scarcely at all under- stood. “I mean what I say, and express it as a deliberate conviction, founded on an exten- sive observation of young men, that no book in the world, was ever so generally possessed, and so little comprehended, as an English AND INNER LIFE. 141 Bible in the present day. I do not say English Bible, with any reference to faults of translation, for whatever errors may cling to the authorized version of the Scriptures, I do not believe that these affect, in any appre- ciable degree, the question of its intelligent perusal. The evil lies much deeper. Zvery- thing, in English Society, is unfavorable to the profitable study of the Bible ;—the cease- less activities of the good, and the restless insinuations of the bad,—textual preaching, and tormenting criticism,—the multiplication of books, and the mingling of things sacred and profane, all tend to keep men from feeding in green pastures, or reposing by the side of still waters. “The result is,—for that which affects the people affects the priest,—that while public worship was never so well attended ag at present, the pulpit was never so powerless; conduct in the counting-house, never so in- dependent of attention in the pew; scep- ticism never so rampant; and happy Christians never so rare. 142 OBJECTIVE TRUTH “Infidelity, always alive to the signs of — the times, is rapidly building on the founda- tion thus laid for its advance, by modern society. It now rarely scoffs at piety, and is seldom profane. It has no quarrel with thoughts of God, whether He be regarded as force, or love; it only suggests that He should not be recognized in old Hebrew clothing. It honours Christ, as the Divine Idea in every man, but cannot allow that He will ever again be seen as Jesus of Nazareth, either on earth or in heaven. The Bible itself, no longer insulted, is admitted to have been at one time a necessity, and as such to have had its use. But why, itis said, worship that good old book? Why seem to forget that its histories, its forms of words, its sacra- mental symbols, however beautiful as illus- trations of the past, were never intended to be confounded with essential facts? Why not avow at once, what you must feel to be the truth, that the mind of man has now passed into other phases; that it becomes us to separate between the flesh and the AND INNER LIFE. 143 spirit, the form and the reality ; that we must take care, lest in turning to old Hebrew records for guidance or consolation, we should be found going backwards instead of forwards,—seeking the living among the dead, and converting what was once a robe of light into a mere winding sheet of corrup- tion? Such, and such like, are the forms of thought, under which the most subtle and specious attacks are now made, on all that distinguishes Christianity from a refined Paganism. The attempt is, to get rid by volatilization, of truths which cannot be over- thrown either by force or fraud. “Specious, however, as this notion of sepa- rating the spirit of Scripture, from the body of its truth, may seem to be, it vanishes into thin air, the moment we recollect that the language of the Bible, is as Divine as its con- ceptions, and that the holy temple in which the Spirit is enshrined, is as sacred as God Himself. For if it be a sublime fact in nature, that God never sends any living thing into the world without giving it a body, how 144; OBJECTIVE TRUTH much more is it so in revelation, where every truth has its own body, at once unfading and immortal? What, think you, would Scripture be worth fo ws, if God simply revealed Himself there, as the Great Spirit filling the universe? Why, little or no- thing. But it is not so. If He speaks, it is as Our Hather who is in heaven, bearing that relation to us for ever. If He sends Christ into the world, it is incarnated, the elder brother of the family in human flesh,— suffering that we may enjoy, in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin,! and this incarnation is eternal. If He withdraws the Christ from mortal sight, He sends ‘the Comforter,’—again, a’ Person, not an influence merely, and therefore the object of affection ; and He tells us, that this indwelling Spirit is av once, the ‘Leader’ and ‘Guide, the ‘ Witness’ and ‘ Prophet,’ the ‘ Helper’ and * Heb. iv. 15. * One passage in Scripture (1 Cor. xy. 24—28) seems to throw doubt on this statement; let it, therefore, be modified accordingly. AND INNER LIFE. 145 ‘ Intercessor,’ the ‘ Sanctifier ’ and life-giving ‘Quickener’ of the Redeemed Church. Equally true is it that, if He gives us a written revelation of other things, it is m words that never become obsolete; in lan- guage, that transcends the limit of mortal power ; in utterances, that make themselves known and felt most, in the depths of a renewed and sanctified heart. “In this respect,—as Spirit speaking only to Spirit,—Scripture stands alone. “ Other writings, merely ask for the com- prehension of their statements, the exercise of a clear logical faculty : these, ‘mediating,’ as has been beautifully said, ‘between two worlds, the visible and the invisible, often seem to indicate much, that can be powerfully felt in the heart, although scarcely, if at all, capable of being translated into words,’ and demand sympathy, as an essential condition to the right understanding of passages, ‘ beyond the power of philosophy to analyze, yet full of meaning to him who catches the accent.’ ' + Jowett. N 2 146 OBJECTIVE TRUTH “ Explain it as we may, there is a sense in which the words of Scripture, are as Divine as the thoughts they embody. If faithfully translated, it matters not what may be the version, the words, like the wheels that Ezekiel saw in vision, rise with the Spirit that inspires them. ‘Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was i the wheels.’ } “And so it comes to pass, that, at the same time, and in all languages, ‘each in his own tongue wherein he was born,’ Christian men are to be found pondering words which, as they dwell upon them, glow with a new and warmer life, and at length become as it were transfigured before them in celestial radiance. Thus it is, that Scripture, in the expression of a truth, as much as in the revelation of it, vindicates its own divinity. It refuses to be confined within the limits of the human understanding, yet never transcends the con- 1 Ezek. i. 19, 20. AND INNER LIFE. 147 sciousness of the renewed soul; for the Spirit in the Word, and the Spirit in the Believer, are One, and all forms of communion between God and man harmonize. Hence it is, that to the poor, the suffering, and the ignorant, Scripture commonly so speaks, that the heart is affected, long before the mind is clearly informed, and men live on truths, which they are yet utterly unable to express in words. “‘T am quite aware that it may be said, that truth must, of necessity, more or less, reach the intellect before it can affect the heart. But I am not careful to meet this merely metaphysical difficulty. Itis enough to know, from daily experience and observation, that many things excite emotion, and influence conduct, long before they are intelligently understood ; for truths, like men, often pro- ject their shadows. “But these things, however true or im- portant they may be, have little hold on the existing generation. The unreflecting call such thoughts misty ;—the practical consider them too subjective ;—the devout deprive them 148 OBJECTIVE TRUTH of all force and beauty by identifying them with absurd theories of verbal inspiration ; making prophets and apostles mere pieces of mechanism, and claiming for St. Paul, the same divine impulse when asking for his cloak, as when he was expounding charity. The existence of the Christian consciousness 18, in each case, either denied or set at nought, while the human understanding, is alternately exalted and trampled upon ; the result being, that deep sense of uncertainty which, whether we discern it or not, has unquestionably come down upon the age, although at present concealed under its activities. “The infidelity of the present day would not be half so dangerous as it is, if it did not so wonderfully adapt itself to the weaknesses of our popular Christianity. It is, indeed, little more than the carrying out, to their full extent, of principles already half admitted by the Christian Church. The irritation to which so many excellent persons are liable, if the final conquest of truth be referred to ‘the coming of the Lord;’ their notion of AND INNER LIFE. 149 the unspirituality of such ideas; their denial that anything but holy influences will ever be brought to bear upon a rebellious world; their shrinking from definite ideas of the personality of God, as now revealed in and through the Holy Spirit; their objections to all literal interpretations of Scripture ; their unintelligent bibliolatry;' and their conse- quent exaltation of outward evidences,— valuable as they are in their proper place,— above the witness of the Spirit; these, and similar tendencies, all indicate the weak joint in the armour, through which the spear of infidelity will be thrust. “The writers we have been referring to, are men who, from their position and cha- racter, are fully alive to the dangers that ? Bibliolatry does not consist in over-valuing the Bible— this is impossible; but in that senseless worship of the mere letter of Scripture, which neglects altogether its true meaning and spirit; “in that bandying of texts and half texts, just as memory happens to suggest them, or chance brings them before the mind,” which is unhappily so common. 150 OBJECTIVE TRUTH beset the Christian faith in the present day, and are, I believe, earnestly desirous of stem- ming the current of doubt, which they see to be running with ever increasing force. They may err, in the mode they have adopted ; they have, perhaps, too readily abandoned ground, which might have been successfully maintained; they have sometimes spiritualized to the very borders of mysticism, and some- times sanctioned a style of criticism, which is daring rather than devout. But, with all this, they are doing a work, that it is needful should be done. “The evil they occasion is, I believe, much less than is generally supposed, and has many compensations. The good they effect will be great, if they so far lift the veil of the future, as to show self-satisfied dogmatists, which way the intellect of England is tending ;— if they lead Christians generally, even though it be through the painful disturbance of long cherished notions and prejudices, to seek and find, both for themselves and others, evidences to the truth of Scripture, higher than even AND INNER LIFE. 151 slabs from Nineveh can afford,—and a witness to the Gospel, more subtle and divine, than can be furnished by the purest confessions, though fenced by all the artillery of eccle- siastical wrath and editorial slander. Ah! my good friend, you have yet to learn the full force of John Newton’s shrewd remark, —‘Some men’s doubts are better than other men’s certainties.’ ”’ “T fear I have,” said the young man; “yet, believe me, I thank you sincerely for the trouble you have taken on my behalf, and am not without hope, that some of the thoughts you have suggested may, by the blessing of God, tend to promote that joy and peace in believing, which I have so long sought in vain.” “ And now farewell. May God enable you practically to realize the life you advocate.”’ t #) Liwth Vin i ge: Poe Sid it ik baidatay Pa ae Hy Oe? KA alt iy GF tees ge oy Mina 6 tnt LePece” Bin (Hs RN Wenal ag My yaad 0 en — AS wera ay nies a mae ts SE aie gins 404 rit sige viet Beye ae 7 Yan’ PAHO: “ooh heen o ibe Y ‘ea “eh ae Bh ear ae Pons Feady F Ae hte. anita 7a Made” et ‘a0 aT sed” Boy oldegeeponre 2 Pett ty Bis desahe: codaed dened pte aie eas sbiiiee geese sve ‘wiicie een inh (Re aed ny Rein Sati s sii Sahat Rae a mi ng Bee aie Oe svnat: ete PAGAN ie ie lett beak “we? Haan Se Pos teerelert eS Pei, nici fay mY Pipl eet wey obit oak aetna ab cide ; ‘ ie ba " : iJ ety 1 ONS, 75 Se a a me “ ay th hae 2 oe = > . Che Church and the World. “God and the world, we worship both together, Draw not our laws to Him, but His to ours; Untrue to both, so prosperous in neither, The imperfect Will brings forth but barren flowers. Unwise, as all distracted interests be, Strangers to God, fools in humanity; Too good for great things, and too great for good, While still ‘I dare not,’ waits upon I would.” 7 , - ies 4 2S stan, bbs 2 igen vilaks» &- borat ‘4 Bye “if rh pe’ if site emdvincinge i ae oa weglt Pi eae rae sien ayy | | fo) ae ‘i CHAPTER V. N an age and country like our own, the Church and the World’ act and re-act on each other, with unusual rapidity and force. From tHm Cuurcnu, the World takes both its notions of religion, and its basis of morality. 1 By THE CuuRcu, I mean that body of persons, of all religious denominations, who profess to live by faith and not by sight ; and who regard themselves as strangers and pilgrims upon earth, looking for another and a better city. By THE WORLD, I mean all those who live for the present rather than for the future; who do not even affect to be guided and governed by the unseen; but who, whether moral or vicious, sceptical or careless, are uninfluenced by anything higher than considerations which terminate in this life. 156 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. By the Church, its manners are chastened, its laws modified, its tone elevated, and its opinions in many respects formed and guided. From tHE WORLD, on the other hand, the Church receives status, money, and social respect. By the World, its enthusiasm is more or less checked, its ideal of right some- what lowered, its standard of practical god- liness kept down. Mutually influencing each other in this friendly spirit, antagonism in time altogether ceases; something like compromise takes place; reviling is exchanged for regard; and the lion and the lamb “le down’”’ together so peace- fully, that ‘alittle child’’ might “lead them.” Hand in hand, the old opponents walk together, mutually rejoicing in the advance of civiliza- tion, the humanizing of society, the triumphs of science, the binding together of nations, the spread of commerce, and the coming of that golden age when, witnessing the fulfilment alike of heathen and of Jewish prophecy, the world shall at length become the dwelling place of a happy and united brotherhood. THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 157 Such are the facts of the case. Of course there is a shady side to the picture, for sin and misery, vice and want, abound as much as ever, and men generally are too rest- less to be happy. But since everything in this world has its counterbalance, why should we dwell on that which only produces sad- ness P So men reason. Is it unimportant to ask, how far this state of things is of God ? That to some extent, it is the natural and necessary result of the spread of Christianity, is unquestionable ; nor is it to be denied that many benefits thereby accrue to mankind at large. To say thatthere isno difference between “the World’’ by which the Apostle Paul was surrounded, when in Greece or Rome, and that, in the midst of which, the Church of Christ in Eng- land now dwells, is simply absurd; for although the natural alienation of the heart from God, which led to the neglect of Apostolic teaching, and that which occasions similar neglect now, is essentially the same, wide and important distinctions ought always to be made, between o 2 158 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. habitual indulgence in gross wickedness, and mere indications, however clear, of the absence of all spiritual life. Nor should we forget that the Holy Spirit has a twofold work upon earth,—the convic- tion of mankind as to sin, righteousness, and judgment ; as well as the calling out of a re- deemed Church, by the impartation of a new nature. or Scripture nowhere teaches that conviction is simply a work of judgment, conversion alone a display of grace. Considerations innumerable should moye us to strain every nerve to lead men from self to Christ, from outward excitements to inward peace, from doubt to certainty, from dim, vague, and trembling hopes, to great and precious promises sealed by the blood of the spotless Lamb of God; but nothing can justify denunciations which confound all our ideas of right and wrong, by insisting that, in the eye of God, the virtuous and the vicious stand side by side. For if it be true, on the one hand, that the utmost purity and amiability of character,.so THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 159 far as man is concerned, may exist with abso- lute enmity to God, it is equally true on the other, that, as a rule, dispositions thus far in harmony with the Gospel, indicate the pre- sence, of at least some degree of love both towards God and man. A man is not indeed spiritual, who, in any good he does, merely acts in accordance with his constitutional ten- dencies; but it must not be forgotten, that constitutional tendencies, like everything else, are from God, and resistance or obedience to tendencies, good or bad, form no mean part of the Christian warfare. : The Pharisees, whom our Lord grouped with Publicans and harlots, were not per- sons who were amiable, yet unspiritual, but base and formal hypocrites, hiding cherished vices under sanctimonious appear- ances. It is not wise, therefore, hastily to conclude that the mtermingling, which now takes place between the Church and the World, is altogether evil; that entire separation, if effected, as it must be, under the influence of human judgments, would 160 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. necessarily promote true piety; or that the abandonment of Government, politics, muni- cipal. offices, or status of any kind, to the unspiritual, would either be for the glory of God, or the good of man. A Christian, in the days of the Apostles, differed from other men outwardly, as much as inwardly. He was, commonly, either a wanderer or an outcast; for the life that was around him, whether private or social or public, involved, at every turn, practices which were in themselves absolutely corrupt- ing or blasphemous. But the reverse of all this is the case now, the distinction in ques- tion being almost entirely inward. A. Christian, in the present day, is simply one who makes daily war within, against evils to which others willingly submit; and in him, as has been beautifully said, we may view “the picture of a man struggling with effect against his earth-born propensities, and yet hateful to himself for the very existence of them,—holier than any of the people around him, and yet humbler than them all,—realiz- THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. I161 ing, from time to time, a positive increase to the grace and excellency of his character, and yet becoming more tenderly conscious every day of its remaining deformities,—gradually expanding in attainment, as well as in desire, _ towards the light and the liberty of heaven, and yet groaning under a yoke, from which death alone will fully emancipate him.”? But if things as they are, may be, in some degree, regarded as of God, they are not wholly so. So far as the world is benefited, how- ever indirectly, by the influence of the Church, God is well pleased; but so far as the Church is cooled in its zeal, or its ideal of good lowered, or the range of its principles limited by its intercourse with the World, so far it is disloyal to its Lord, and a traitor to its trust. What then shall the Church do, if it may not retire from the World, and consider itself, as in former days, “ a witness in sackcloth,” a “persecuted remnant,” a sect ‘“ everywhere spoken against’? 1 Dr. Chalmers. 162 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. But one reply can be given,—it must be true to God, to itself, and to the facts by which it is surrounded. It is not now either perse- cuted or spoken against; nor is it true, how- ever frequently asserted, that Christians are hated in proportion to their spirituality and the thorough consistency of their character. On the contrary, the more consistent they are, the more they are respected. To stand apart, therefore, as if they were the objects either of dislike or contempt, is to be either false or fanciful; in either case, to be unreal. Yet the Church must not forget that its danger is as imminent as ever; that it is stillin the enemies’ country ; that if reproaches have been exchanged for caresses, bloodshedding for bribes, and frowns for flatteries, the hate of the great adversary is not abated, nor is his struggle for pre-eminence in the slightest degree relaxed ;—that if the discipline of to- day be only that of the camp, the dangers and toils of fierce battle may not be so far off as we sometimes imagine. But, some will say, is it ¢rwe, that the stan- THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 168 dard of practical godliness has been lowered ? How shall we ascertain? Perhaps we cannot do more than ask, whether or no such is the general opinion in society ? There can be no question whatever, that if it were possible to stand in Cheapside, and to compel every passer by, one by one, to give, to the best of his belief, a distinct and straight- forward answer tothis inquiry,— Do you per- ceive, or do you believe, that there is any per- ceptible difference in the conduct of Christian persons, as compared with that of others, in the dealings of the mart, the Stock Exchange, the share market, the counting house, the warehouse, and the shop? Are they, as a class, supposed to be less greedy of gain, more honourable, more truthful, more disinterested than others? the all but universal answer would be—No! If employers of labour were, in like terms, required to state the particulars in which Christian servants, male or female, high or low in rank, differed from worldly ones, it is equally certain that their reply, with a few 164 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. striking exceptions, would be, “There is no difference at all.’’ And if, leaving both these classes, literary men,—editors of journals, reviews, magazines, —were in turn also desired to state their conscientious belief, whether religious news- papers and periodicals were or were not, as a whole, distinguished by greater candour, a wider charity, more truthfulness in state- ment, more conscientiousness in quotation, a greater absence of anything like pandering to the interests of party or the unreasonable- ness of prejudice, than secular journals ? it cannot be doubted, that with one voice, they would express their inability to discover any such distinction.’ * An able theological writer, recently deceased, who was remarkable for the originality of his thoughts and the keen- ness of his observation, ventures much further. He says distinctly that, “In English society, men of prayer and religiousness,” are in the present day, “for some reason or other, singularly deficient in masculine breadth and strength, and even truthfulness of character ; with no firm footing upon reality, not daring to look the real problems of social and political life in the face, but wasting their strength in THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 165 Accepting these answers, as at least in- dicating the opinions of the day, the question would then arise, How is such a state of things to be accounted for ? The following reply, which has certainly an element of truth in it, might be given :— The World, it might be said, has so much improved in its general tone and character, under the influence of Christianity, that distinctions, which once were broad and tan- gible, now exist no longer. Their disap- pearance, however, is a cause for joy, rather than sorrow, since it is an indication of a conquest so complete, that the victors and the vanquished have, to a great extent, amal- gamated, and become one. The ultimate disputes of words, or shrinking into a dim atmosphere of ecclesiastical dreaminess, unreal and effeminate.” (Robert- son’s Sermons, second series, 3rd edition.) If these things be true, our beliefs cannot be right; for if, on the one hand, as I have fully admitted, opinions control conduct, it is equally true, on the other, that moral habits to a great extent modify, if they do not actually control, opinions. The life as often forms the creed, as the creed the life. P 166 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. subjection of the conquerors on their own soil, by the multiplication of the captives they have introduced, is, indeed, possible, but far too remote a contingency to excite apprehension. Not quite so unlikely a termination it might, however, fairly be rejoined. The corruptions of the Church of the third Cen- tury, were but the consequences of its success during the first and second. The abomina- tions of the Papacy rose, naturally enough, out of the subjugation of the barbarian hordes by which the Western empire had been over- run. The moral renovation of Popery by the earlier Jesuits, unaccompanied, as it was, by any corresponding moral and spiritual im- provement in Protestantism, was at once the triumph and the ruin of Luther’s cause, and alone explains the otherwise mysterious fact, that “since the middle of the sixteenth cen- tury, the Reformation has not advanced one step in Europe.” And if the great modern Evangelical movement, which has been the pa- rent of the existing spiritual life of England, THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 167 should indeed now die out, it will be, mainly, because it has so far subdued public sentiment, as to have silenced opposition, and eradicated distinctions which are essential to progress. The relative position of the parties haying thus changed,—for the advance of the one, has not been accompanied by corresponding advance in the other,—things necessarily as- sume a new aspect, and the following alter- native seems to present itself,—Hither the distinction between the Church and the World, of which we talk so much, will soon become altogether fictitious, or, some great onward movement must again place the Church on higher ground, and once more make it, a the eyes of all men, “A CITY SET ON AN HILL.” But how is this to be brought about ? Not, certainly, as many excellent Church- men have thought, by the revival of medizval devotion, practices, or claims. Not, assuredly, as others, equally devoted, whether in or out of the Establishment, have hoped, by showers of Divine grace, falling, in answer to our 168 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. prayers, upon churches and missions, whether at home or abroad; for both these expecta- tions proceed on the belief, that existing views and agencies are, unquestionably, Divine in their character, and that, therefore, the mechanism of Earth, however feeble and defective, is destined, ere long, to be moved by nothing less than the omnipotence of Heaven. Both too, ignore past experience, which teaches, that when God moves, it is almost always in a totally different order; by indi- viduals, rather than by associations,—and generally, by persons least likely of all others in the eye of man to be so distinguished. “All the great—the permanently great— things that have been achieved in the world, have been so achieved by individuals, working from the instinct of genius or of goodness.’ ! A few fishermen, a monk, two or three obscure students at a university, a private gentleman, all alike untrained and undis- tinguished, or, if regarded as remarkable by * Coleridge. THE CHURCH AND THE worRLp. 169 any, only for strong individuality of character, for an almost fiery earnestness of purpose, for quick sympathies, and for overflowing spi- ritual life,—these, and such as these, acting entirely on- individual responsibility, and utterly regardless of everything but the voice of duty speaking in their inmost souls, are the men by whom God has hitherto done, and by whom He will, in all probability, con- tinue to do, his “mighty works.” Considerations of this character do not, however, at all lessen our obligation to sustain existing agencies, whatever view we may take of their imperfections. On the contrary, we should work for them, pray for them, and never cease in our endeavours to impart new life to them; for they are the imstruments through which God as yet calls us to work; and “ What is the chaff to the wheat ? saith the Lord.’ But these thoughts should prevent com- placency in them; for such a state of mind, however disguised under the name of zeal for the good of others, always supposes a BE 2 170 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. very imperfect appreciation of the depth and malignity of the evils by which we are sur- rounded, and an equally exaggerated sense of the importance of our own doings. The Church of Christ, like the individual believer, is very apt to mistake its vocation, by supposing that it is, ere long, destined to effect the conversion of the world, when it is, in fact, rather called, like John the Baptist, to prepare the way of Him by whom alone conquest will ever be accomplished. True, the work of preparation in some degree im- plies the work of conversion; for “he who converts a sinner from the error of his ways,” not only “saves a soul from death,” but to that extent, removes an obstacle to the coming of Christ’s kingdom. ‘Truly also, and with still more force, may it be urged, that he who goes forth with love in his heart, and life in his hand, to make war with the pollu- tions of idolatry, with the distinctions of caste, with slavery and barbarism, and devil worship in all its forms, does, at every step of his progress, lower “ mountais,” and exalt THE CHURCH AND THE woRLD. 171 “plains,” and “make straight paths,” along which the word of God is finally to run, and be glorified. But doing this work, merely as a pioneer of Christ, is avery different thing from doing it under the stimulant, imparted by delusive expectations, that by such labours the World is to be subdued; that nothing hinders im- mediate success, but the absence of adequate faith, greater pecuniary liberality, and more abundant prayer; that “the public opinion of the world is now immoveably settled in. favour of Christianity ;”’ that “ mankind generally will never again try to do without religion;” that “the cardinal principles of - the morality and theology of Christianity have become so incorporated with all great con- trolling influences, that they cannot hence- forward retrograde, but must advance with the advancement of society;”’ that “the world lies at the feet of Christians, and seems to eet solicit them, Come, and convert us. 1 T avoid giving the name of the book from which these passages are quoted, because I present them, not as the / 172 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. I say, the two states of mind are very different ; for the one, naturally suggests that the main thing to be thought of is, purity of motive and of aim,—pleasing the Master, for whose coming footsteps the ear of the soul will be continually listening ; while the other, seeing only or chiefly im success tokens of the Divine approval, as naturally attaches all but supreme importance to the extension of agency, and the increase of organization, and thus, without constant watchfulness, opens a door to the inroads of vanity, ambition, and worldly policy,—to all the evils, in fact, which attach to similar secular undertakings ; for secular the most spiritual work all but inevi- tably becomes, when it has mainly to be car- ried on by clerks, and in counting houses, and amid all the anxieties about the obtain- ing and expenditure of money, which are inseparable from the management of great affairs. — sentiments of an individual, but as expressing opinions, which have been reiterated a thousand times, by good men of all religious denominations, Ee THE CHURCH AND THE WoRLD. 173 At all events, without derogating in the slightest degree from the importance of such efforts, or questioning for an instant the purity of motive by which they are sustained, it may fairly be asserted, that it is not by and through them, nor by the agency of any asso- ciation whatever, that the ground now lost by the Church can be effectually recovered, or the distinction that once existed, between it and the World without, be once more restored. The question, therefore, returns, How is the desired change to be brought about ? I cannot answer it. God only knows by what process the Church is again visibly to get in advance of the World. Something may, perhaps, be learnt from considering the habits and modes of thought which pre- yailed in the Apostolic age. They were cer- tainly very different from ours. The Apostle John has, as we have already seen, pointed out the spiritual test, by which the first Christians distinguished truth from error; and the younger Pliny shall now inform us how they maintained a practical 174 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. moral superiority over those by whom they were surrounded. “ They,’ the Christians, “ affirmed,” he says, “that the sum total of their fault or of their error consisted, in assembling upon a certain stated day, before it was light, to sing alternately among themselves, hymns to Christ as to a God, binding themselves by oath not to be guilty of any wickedness, not to steal nor to rob; not to commit adultery ; nor break their faith when plighted; nor to deny the deposits in their hands whenever called upon torestore them. These ceremonies performed, they usually departed.’ } When they met then, it seems, they simply paid divine worship to their God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and then pledged themselves before God and each other, not to follow the habits and practices of the world in which their lot was cast. One wonders what would be thought of such assemblies now,—-of Christian men meet- ing, first, simply to honour Christ, and then ’ Pliny’s Letters, Book x., Epist. xcvii. THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 175 solemnly to pledge one another that, what- ever others might do, they would, under no circumstances, lie or cheat in trade; that they would never, im buying, take advantage of poverty or necessity—in selling, of ig- norance or inexperience; that they would do unto others as they would that others should do unto them; that they would seek to avoid covetousness, and daily strive against all undue greed of gain,—the love of getting ; that they would be kind and benevolent to those they employ, faithful to those they serve; that they would be patient under provocation, and meek with the irritable; that they would be candid in controversy, avoid censoriousness, and be jealously careful of each other’s reputation; that they would be tender and charitable in their judgments, and grateful to Heaven for all the mercies by which they were surrounded. One cannot help suspecting, that such a mode of promoting Christianity, would be accounted going backward rather than for- ward ; that its advocates would be told, they 176 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. were anything but advanced Christians ; and that the great end they aimed at would be far better accomplished, by a course of sound teaching, on the depravity of human nature, on the plan of salvation,—and on the evils of worldliness as displayed at balls and concerts. It would, without doubt, be stoutly main- tained that, as all sound morality has its root in sound doctrine, and as all true virtue necessarily follows true faith in Christ, that to give such undue prominence to morals was to promote self-righteousness, and practically to deny the sanctifying influences of Gospel truth. The reply to such criticism is, however, sufficiently obvious,—the jirst Christians did not think so; and although a mere imitation of their proceedings would be folly, there are many valuable lessons to be learned from their example, lessons peculiarly adapted to the necessities of the present day. Again, much has been said and written of late years, on the duty and necessity of THE CHURCH AND THE wWoRupD. 177 CHRISTIAN UNION, founded for the most part on the affecting prayer of our Lord for his disciples, when He was about to take his departure from them, “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” * Again and again has it been argued, that the unhappy divisions of Christendom constitute the great barrier to the advance of Chris- tianity; that never, until the Church is visibly one, will the World submit to Christ or believe in His name. And yet it may fairly be questioned, whether in point of fact, any obstacle to the reception of Christianity would be removed from the mind of the unbeliever in Britain, if the sects were to amalgamate: if, for instance, the Free Church of Scotland and the United Presbyterians were to become, as they probably will, one body ; if Baptists and Independents were to form one denomi- nation; or if the Wesleyans, again united to ? John xvii. 21. Q 178 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. the Church of England, were henceforth to labour within, rather than without, the pale of the Establishment. Nor is it by any means clear, that the disendowment in England of religion alto- gether, the abolition of tithes, church rates, Regium Donum, and Maynooth grants, the reduction of all denominations, as in the United States of America, to one social and political level, would materially alter the rela- tive numbers of those who now accept or reject the Christian faith. There is far more of pretence, than of reality, in the excuse which unbelievers sometimes say they find for their scepticism, in the existence of conflicting creeds and denominations. They know well enough, that these varieties of thought and action, no more disprove the truths of religion, than the divisions of politicians disprove the presence of true patriotism. It is only when believers deny the reality of each other’s faith, and politicians denounce their opponents as wnprincipled, that doubt flings her cold shadow over the THE CHURCH AND THE wWoRLD. 179 heart, and suspicion arises as to the very existence of Christian piety or Public virtue. A Country is never in greater danger than when its noblest statesmen really distrust one another; nor is Religion ever more in peril than when its ministers fiercely charge those who differ from them with worldliness, unfaithfulness, dishonesty, or heresy. Yet this is the habit, the daily, weekly, monthly habit, of too many who profess to be the leaders. and guides of public sentiment. Is it wonderful that, under such conditions, the voice of religion falters, and her step becomes weary ? But it can never be otherwise, so long as life and love are disowned as the sole tests of true brotherhood, and creeds supplant charity as “the bond of perfectness.” Strange indeed is it, that amid the many attempts that have been made to unite be- lievers, as one body in Christ, and the many volumes that have been written on the duty of such union, and on the sin of schism, no man has yet even ventured seriously to 180 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. propose, that a doctrinal basis should be altogether dispensed with.* Instead of this, we boldly assume the office of the Spirit of God,—insist that the recep- tion of this or that truth is essential to salvation,— identify spiritual religion with questions belonging rather to the logical un- derstanding than to the renewed heart,—and deny that any faith can be “ sound,” or “ or- thodox,’’ which does not embrace a given circle of doctrine. That an important meaning is veiled under this kind of phraseology no one can doubt. lt is unquestionably intended thereby to indi- cate, that certain truths so commend them- selves to the Christian consciousness of a renewed man, and are so identified with the ? Dr. Chalmers is said to have observed, when consulted as to the doctrinal basis proposed for the Evangelical Alliance, ‘‘ Dispense with a creed altogether; your prayers will be quite sufficient to attract those who are with you in heart, and to repel those who are not.” But he, too, felt that the Church was not yet “able to receive” this saying. THE CHURCH AND THE worRLp. i881 Divine life, that he who rejects them, does, in fact, reject the Gospel; that, to him, the revelation of life in Christ is not good news, for how can he rejoice in that which he does not even believe? The error lies in regarding Maith in a Per- son, and the belief of a proposition, or rather, of a series of propositions, as nearly if not quite, the same thing. This, the Bible never does. It says, and truly enough, that “without faith, it is im- possible to please (God);” but by faith is obviously meant, trust in God,—a condition of the soul,—not the acceptance of any given statement. Scripture again tells us, most distinctly, that “he that believeth shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be condemned,”’—nay, “is condemned already, because he believeth not.’’ But this belief relates to a Person, not to a statement, to One, who is Himself, the Word, the Way, the Truth, the Life; and belief in Him is mani- fested, not by signature to a creed, but by obedience, by love, by sympathy with Him Q 2 182 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. and His, in all conditions and under all cir- cumstances. That this ¢nvolves belief in the teachings of Christ no one can doubt,’ but He only knows how truly and practically any of us receive his sayings, how far his “words” are to any of us, “spirit and life.” No supposition can be wilder, or more extravagant, than the notion,—common as it is, and sanctified, as it undoubtedly has been, by the all but universal consent of the Church for so many ages,—that we get rid of evasive adherents,—that we give a more explicit cha- racter,and greater definiteness to Gospel truth, —that we bind men more firmly to it,—when, having exchanged the Divine for a human ex- pression, and transferred, as we fondly imagine, the spirit of Scripture into the substance of theological propositions, we require as a proof of wuty, consent by signature, or the avowal of adherence in some other form, to “the idol’? we have set up. It never seems to occur to us, that the absence of any such * John y. 47. THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 183 compendium in Seripture clearly indicates its undesirableness. That in that which is omitted, as much as in that which is in- cluded, we ought to see the Divine wisdom ;— that in this, as in so many other things, “The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God stronger than men.”’ The truth is, the moment we attempt to condense or translate words that are “ spirit and life,” into forms of thought which are neither the one nor the other, we more or less change their meaning, and insensibly be- come expositors of the Word. And since we do this thing, only that we may more effectually “judge” as to the reality of one another’s faith, God frowns on our devices by confounding our language, so that it comes to pass that the very words and phrases in which we express our convictions, and by which we hope to promote oneness, are changed into “traps and snares,’ amid which we “fall and are broken.” Nothing more is needed to explain the endless divi- sions of Christendom, than this general 184 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. abandonment of the “ unity of the Spirit,’’ for the false lights of an imaginary and impracti- cable uniformity in the expression of the letter. The only creed recognized in Scripture is the very short, but comprehensive one, uttered by Peter, when he exclaimed to Jesus, “ Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Might it not, then, be as well to inquire,— for the investigation. can do no harm,— whether errors as to the work of the Spirit im the Church, as to the way in which he manifests himself as a “ Convincer of Sin,”’ as a “ Comforter,” and asa “ Guide into all Truth,’ may not lie at the root of much that is disheartening and depressing in some of the present aspects of Christianity ? Perhaps such an investigation might lead to the conviction, that the evils, which this generation has most to dread, lie in a different direction from that usually indicated by evan- gelical Christians; that they have their root, not so much in a lawless spirit of inquiry, as in a loose code of commercial morality ; in THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 185 that intense practical activity which leads us to neglect meditation; to stifle thought; to forget “the Spirit;” to read almost exclusively for immediate impression ; to be impatient of everything requiring prolonged or earnest consideration; to peruse, even the Bible, hastily, in fragments, and, for the most part, through the eyes of others; and to be satisfied with expositions from the pulpit, which, how- ever good in themselves, are moulded by similar influences, and carefully ignore every- thing that seems to cast a doubt on the all- sufficiency of the Church in its present state, when acting, in the spirit of faith and prayer, to subdue the whole World to the Redeemer. Perhaps such a review might open the eyes of the good to the fact, that if unbelievers sneer at literal interpretations of Scripture as “carnal,”’—if they exalt Art or Benevolence over spiritual views and inward emotions,— if they place the secondary influences of Christianity,—never even referred to-by the Apostles,—far above its primary elements ; if, confounding all doctrinal truth, with human 186 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. expressions of it, they regard both alike as unimportant and unpractical,—if, working, not like the Gospel, from the inward to the outward, but, like all false philosophy, from the outward to the inward, they seek to purify by esthetics, to kindle by sympathy, and to spiritualize by the culture of the Im- agination, rather than by the subjection of the Will,—if, pandering to the age, and, in turn, pandered to by the age, they begin with philanthropy and end in pantheism—are first practically useful, and then practically atheistic,—it might, I say, be salutary to the good, to recognize the fact, that such persons are encouraged and sustained in their errors by observing, how similar are the principles which,—so far as principles are discernible at all,—give life and activity to the undertakings of the religious world. Such, at least, are the sentiments advanced, with more or less prominence, in the fore- going conversations. The question is, Are they true? and, if true, Are they of any practical importance ? That they are, in THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 187 some points, decidedly opposed to the current theology of the day, is certain; and if those be right who say, that since existing modes of thought and feeling have carried, and are daily carrying, thousands of God’s redeemed children, by “a way of holiness,’”’ to heaven, it is wrong to question them for a moment,— thew he who ventures even to ask for their re-consideration, however good his intentions, must remain content to be regarded as at best, but a self-confident disturber of the public peace. Such “new wine,’’ it will be said, cannot be put into the “old bottles ;”’ it will “burst’’ bonds which have hitherto been found of incalculable value in restrain- ing fermentation. To such—and they are many, and fre- quently numbered among the excellent of the earth—it can only be replied, that this view, right or wrong, sustains Romanism, and will continue to sustain it, so long as such a system of repression is sanctioned, although with other ends, by the entire Christian world. To others, it may still be advisable to say, 188 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. Search, and see whether these things be so or not. And first, with regard to the views ordi- narily held by the Church, touching the person, work, and agency of the blessed Spirit. No one, I suppose, will deny that they include two great doctrines,—/irst, that every believer, in answer to prayer, and in proportion to his faith, has a right to expect from above distinct and direct illumination in the understanding, under the influence of which, he is led to perceive truth, and enabled to believe and enjoy it; and secondly, that in this power—that of the Spirit—the faithful preacher of the Gospel, is enabled to speak in accordance with the Divine will; in the view of some, apparently, to such an extent, as to leave it at least doubtful, whether a pre-composed prayer or a written sermon can properly be said to be of the Spirit; ' 1 The following is extracted from a volume which has not been published much more than a year, but which has already passed through ten editions; in many respects an admirable work, by a very excellent man:— ’ THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 189 by others, limited to various degrees of spi- ritual elevation, producing freedom of thought and aptness of utterance. Those who preach the Gospel most humbly and faithfully, fall back on these views more than others ; for, in proportion to the sense they have of their own weakness, and of the extreme difficulty of bringing spiritual truth home to the hearts of the careless, is their desire to sustain themselves by the hope and belief, that, asking, they will receive im- mediate Divine assistance in the composition or delivery of their sermons. Being un- questionably right in their feeling of depend- ence, they do not even suspect they may be wrong in anticipating a kind of aid which, whether they see it or not, necessarily con- “Tt ought to be manifest, that while he (the preacher) has done what in him lies to be thoroughly furnished, he is trusting for utterance to help from above, and not insuring it by natural means,—either a manuscript or memory. We put these two together, because we do not see that any distinction really exists between them.”— “The Tongue of Fire,’ by William Arthur, A.M. R 190 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. founds ordinary intellectual effort with super- natural light; which places on the same platform the wise and the foolish, the sober and the fanatic; which blends, in an inex- tricable manner, the human and the Divine ; which separates heavenly aid from moral ad- vancement; and which renders it impossible for any man to draw practical distinctions between the power of a strongly excited human sympathy and the power of the Holy Ghost. And yet; side by side with these convic- tions, and among the very persons who most tenaciously cling to them, we have one large and important body, united by common be- liefs,—so far, at least, as these can be ex- pressed in creeds and formularies,—governed _by common laws, and partaking of common endowments,’ so differing, that one section distinctly and habitually asserts that its op- ponents are but ruiming the souls they pre- tend to save;? while numerous seceders *— 1 The Established Church. ? See the Record newspaper. 3 The Plymouth Brethren. THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 191 consisting, for the most part, of truly pious and spiritual persons, who have separated alike from the National Establishment and the Nonconformists, for the express purpose of bearing a more distinct and positive wit- ness to the direct teaching of the Holy Spirit in the Church, presents to the world the unseemly spectacle, of a division into two great parties, each refusing to meet the other at the table of the Lord, on account of sup- posed heresy, and yet each firmly maintain- ing that the particular views respecting which they quarrel, have been directly communicated by the same all-wise and unerring Guide. I know very well, how hard it is to make men see the importance of distinetions ; and, therefore, I do not wonder that many should be unwilling to admit that it can be of any practical consequence, whether we hold that the Spirit of God acts directly on the in- tellect, or only on the moral nature; or that they should regard such a question, as rank- ing with an old controversy, which long raged, as to whether faith preceded or 192 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. followed love, the truth being, that they entered the heart together, and could not be separated. “So is it,’’ such persons will say, “with the Spirit; if He acts on the intellect, it is only that the moral nature may be purified by the truth thus imparted; if He acts on the moral nature, it is that the in- tellect may be purged from error.”’ And no doubt there is some truth in this mode of. reasoning. But it is evasive, rather than satisfactory. It may, at first sight, seem to be a matter of little weight, whether a Christian man prays,—“ Enlighten my mind by thy Holy Spirit, that I may wnderstand thy word, and so be brought to obey and love it,” or, whether the form of his supplication be,— “Fill me with the love of Thyself, and so purify my heart from sin, my mind from prejudice, and my soul from all selfish de- sires, that I may see clearly the truth as it is in Jesus, and daily endeavour to follow the steps of His most holy life.” Hither of these prayers, if offered from a THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 198 sincere desire to attain to the knowledge and love of God, will, doubtless, be heard and accepted, for the Holy Spirit interprets our petitions, however ill expressed, and accord- ing to the state of the heart, they are answered. But it does not thence follow that the effect on our own minds, is in each case alike; for the JSormer petition proceeds on the assumption that Divine light, supposed to be thus given, will remove doubt in relation to particular views, ASSURING the believer, in answer to his prayers, that he is intellectually right in the opinion he has formed, as to this or that aspect of a truth. The latter supposes that truth, and the intellect by which truth is to be appreciated, are alike from God, and, therefore, mutually adapted to each other ; that the only obstacle to the discernment of truth is sim, in the form of pride, vanity, selfishness, sectarianism, self-interest, and such like; and that, therefore, God, in answer to prayer for light, replies, “ He that doeth my will shall know of the doctrine.” To test the practical difference between RB 2 194 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. the two modes of thought, and, therefore, the practical value of the distinction referred to, we have only to suppose that, in some period of great religious excitement, the two forms of prayer adverted to, are intensified by those who respectively offer them, and that answers are anxiously looked for and expected, and then we shall see clearly enough, that the one directly leads, as it always has led, to enthusiasm and extravagance, to a belief in something like personal inspiration, to the formation of new sects, to disunion, to bitter- ness, and to schism. ‘The other, intensify it as you may, can only lead to greater watch- fulness as to conduct and motive, to humility and to love. Is it, then, unreasonable to inquire whether ordinary views of the work of the Spirit be correct? Is it presumptuous to suggest the possibility, at least, of some great error under- lying our opinions on this important subject ? Is it wonderful, that if Christians regard the Holy Spirit. as flame to the intellect, or im- pulse to the imagination of the Sacred Orator, THE CHURCH AND THE woRLD. 195 those who speculate on inspiration should see little difference, between the excitements of the Theologian and those of the Poet, or imagine, that the direct guidance from God claimed for the Apostles, was more or less subject to the same elements of human in- firmity, which so obviously cleave to the supposed teaching of the Spirit in modern days? Is it unimportant or ill-timed, under such circumstances, to urge,—were it even with passionate earnestness,—the necessity for an immediate and thorough recognition of the fact, that broad and palpable distinc- tions exist, between the inspiration of the Scriptures, and any influence now exercised on the minds of believers; since the former, was light imparted directly to the intellect, enabling those who received it infallibly to communicate to others the mind of God; while the latter, is love filling the heart, by and through which elevation of the moral nature alone, is the mind purged from pre- judice, and truth discerned and accepted ?? * It may seem strange to some, that this view of the 196 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. Let this be once done frankly, fully, and fearlessly, and all exclusive claims, either to Divine favour, or spiritual illumination, will be soon seen in their true character, as ab- surdity or wickedness ; all human pretensions to authority in religion, will be scorned as mere arrogance or falsehood; and all heresy be left to wither and die, as it speedily would, under the sunlight of spiritual consciousness, or the moonlight of candid and charitable controversy. Prayer, however dark the mind of the petitioner, would then be viewed as, at least, a pleasing and hopeful groping after God, indicating some degree of conviction as influences of the Spirit should be so frequently pressed, and that so much importance should be attached to it. If apology be needful, it must be found, first, in the fact, that the author has not been able to discover any other book in which this aspect of the question has been pre- viously discussed; and secondly, in his conviction, that if the distinction which has been so often adverted to, had been recognized and regarded in past ages, the history of the Church in these later days, would, humanly speaking, have been very different. THE CHURCH AND THE worRLp. 197 to his power and presence; while all duty, however ignorantly performed, would be re- , garded as the fruit of that Spirit which, even in unsubdued hearts, bears constant witness against evil, and in favour of righteousness. And if it be true, as has been asserted, that “the last sixty years, which has made us so much more liberal, and, in a sense, more serious, too, than our fathers, has touched, not our creeds, indeed, so as to remove any: one article from them, but the depth of our convictions as to the whole, and as to several points of our belief;” if, while “there igs little, perhaps, in the cycle of our predeces- sors’ confession of faith, which, if challenged to relinquish, we should consent to see erased,”’ yet, “whether we be distinctly con- scious of the fact or not, there has come to stand over against each article of that belief, a counterbalance, an influence of abatement, an unadjusted surmise, an adverse feeling, neither assented to nor dismissed, but which holds the mind in perpetual suspense ;’’! if, * Isaac Taylor. 198 THE CHURCH AND-THE WORLD. as is repeated from another and very different quarter, “the whole tone of religious litera- ture at the present time in this country is apologetic ;”’ if “books, sermons, magazines, reviews, all the various channels through which the mind of the age expresses itself on theological topics, show this unmistakeable symptom of uneasiness ;’’ if, “instead of that mental repose which arises from perfect faith, —that calm expression of truth which dis- tinguished periods of undoubting trust—that spirit of moral edification which aims at building up the superstructure of a religious life, rather than guarding the foundations, we have now a well nigh universal tone of apology on the one hand, and of defiance on the other;’’! if, as the leader of another and , still different school asserts, “joy and glory- ing seem to belong to that circle of Christian eraces—of which hope is the centre—which have almost vanished in the phraseology of modern times,’ * then is it, indeed, high time that we should be able distinctly to separate * J, D. Morell. ? Jowett. THE CHURCH AND THE wWoRLD. 199 between things that differ, and ask ourselves whether so lamentable a condition, may not have ‘been brought about by unwise ex- aggerations, and ill-digested reasonings, by misapplied texts, and by a sad forgetfulness of evidence, higher and better than any that human testimony can by possibility afford. Without certainty there can be no joy, and little strength,—for all doubt is paralyzing ; but this great blessing can never be attained in an age so critical as this, so long as we refuse to recognize the limits, within which alone it is vouchsafed to the children of men. Strange, indeed, is it, that we should be so long in learning that differences in secondary mat- ters, are the inevitable result of free agency ; that truths, not essential to life and godliness, commonly break upon the mind very gradu- ally, and, for the most part, in combinations varying with the peculiar idiosynerasy of each individual; that, as no two features of the human countenance are alike, and every ex- pression differs, so no two minds perceive things in precisely the same relations, or, 900 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. probably, even imagine them in exactly the same form: and, stranger still is it, that in this infinite diversity of thought and feeling, we should fail to discern and to admire the same wisdom and love, that has clothed the fields with ever-changing verdure, and gar- nished all creation with an endless variety of beauty. Some, indeed, would still settle all differ- ences by reference to Ecclesiastical authority. But who does not feel that this court of ap- peal, once a solemn reality, has long since passed away ? for God no longer bears wit- ness to its existence, by giving to the rulers of his Church, as he once did, that power to inflict penalties on the disobedient,’ without which, law, whether Divine or human, can _ never be anything more or better than advice. Rome, indeed, boldly asserts, that she has ever retained all the credentials of the Apostolic Church ; that she is OnE; that she has an infallible Head on earth; that she 1 See Note to “The Comforter,” on the Remission of Sins by Man. THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 201 can open or shut heaven ; that she can work miracles; that she can give or withhold the body of the Lord. But even her claim fails utterly, when tested by this Apostolic rule. She is obliged to admit that she has no power given her of God to punish gainsayers,! or to chastise or subdue her rebellious chil- dren.” They who minister at her altars, like the priests of Baal, may “ cry aloud,’’ or lash themselves “ after their manner ;”’ they may prophesy against heretics from early morning “until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice ;* but “there is neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regard.’ The only sword she can wield is that, with which the followers of Baal would have been only too glad to have pierced Elijah for his insult- ing mockeries.* * Acts xiii. 11. 7 1Cor.v.83—5. ° 1 Kings xviii. 29. * In asking for this kind of evidence, let it be remem- bered, we ask for nothing more than Scripture warrants us in such cases to ask,—just so much of the miraculous as may suffice to prove, that the power is at work when no miracle is seen. 202 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. Protestant churches, in this particular, have always followed Rome “afar off,’ and with timid and doubtful steps. At times, when tempted by opportunity, they have all availed themselves of tyrannical expedients for sustaining or consolidating power; but they have not, like Rome, habitually sought to make civil penalties support Church dis- cipline; for they have never held to infalli- bility, nor have they pretended that salvation was impossible out of their pale. But short of this, their claims have been scarcely less preposterous. Some, still assert the power of their respective priesthoods to give, or to withhold the body of Christ. Others, lay exclusive claim to ministry. While others, of humbler pretensions, in various forms, and in different degrees, as - stoutly insist that they alone follow the Divine model. And what has been the result ?—First, interminable divisions, and now growing scepticism as to the existence of any Church authority whatever. THE CHURCH AND THE WoRLD. 203 Again and again, has the question been put by inquiring minds,—and it will continue to be put, with an ever increasing determina- tion to arrive at the truth,—Has God really given to any ecclesiastical body now on earth, Papal or Protestant, established or non- established,—or to any voluntary association, endowed or unendowed, any authority, dif- ferent from that which is claimed and exer- cised by secular associations, when, uniting for temporal purposes, they lay down rules for their own government, and separate those from their fellowships who refuse to submit to them. If so, where is such church to be found? and what is the extent, what the limits of its power P r Nor can such a question be answered either by mere assertion, or by reference to the undoubted fact, that all Church rules being drawn from the Word of God, are sup- posed to be of Divine authority. It is too important to be thus lightly disposed of. Nothing short of distinct proof can, or ought to satisfy the inquirer; for the answer in- 904 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. volves considerations affecting both his duty and his happiness. Tf a claim to rule, on behalf of Christ, can be authenticated by any church in the world, duty demands instant submission to that Church ; and happiness, which always follows submission to lawful authority, is sure to be the result. But in proportion to the import- ance of the claim, is the necessity for jealous scrutiny as to its legitimacy. For if I am led astray by mere assumption, I unwittingly advance that which is human, into the place of that which is Divine; I allow something or other, whatever it may be, to come more or less between me and Christ,—more or less _ to interfere with the work of that indwelling Spirit, by which, in proportion as I am made lowly and obedient, and freed from prejudice and selfishness, truth is unveiled to my mind, and the revealed will of God made at once luminous and guiding,—clear to my intellect, light to my path. It is, I think, too generally taken for eranted, that men make light of Church THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 205 authority from mere lawlessness,—that self- will, the love of self-assertion, conceit and pride, lie at the root of that contempt for ecclesiastical pretension, which certainly marks the present age. It is forgotten that, in religious matters, men love repose; that the sense of responsibility, in relation to the acquisition of truth and the fulfilment of duty is, to an earnest and conscientious mind, singularly painful and wearisome; that no- thing, humanly speaking, contributes more to the contentment of men, than confidence in a spiritual guide. We see this illustrated by wnbelievers, in the fact, that, in the ab- sence of truth, almost any form of super- stition is welcomed; and by believers, in the readiness with which they yield to the in- fluence of the sect or party to which they may belong. The truth is, that, i religion, men will believe anything, or trust in anybody, rather than allow that the true Church is, to the human eye, all but invisible; that lost amid a wilderness of schisms, it is known only to 8 2 206 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. Him who discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart ; that there is, therefore, now no ecclesiastical body upon earth having, as such, authority to teach, to decree rites and cere- monies, or properly speaking, to discipline men; that only to its risen Lord, and to the purifying presence of the Comforter, can each individual Christian really look for guidance, for comfort, or for strength. Nor need we wonder at this unwillingness to give up the idea of Church authority. For it is assuredly a fearful thing to stand in a world like this, in the presence of evil, and to feel, to so great an extent, one’s isolation and helplessness. It would be overwhelm- ing, were it not for the thought, that in all that relates to God, “strength is made per- fect im weakness ;’’—that faith places the om- nipotence of heaven in the hand of the Be- liever ;—that the Spirit of the livmg God dwells in the heart of the man who is Christ’s loving and obedient disciple; and that the fellowship of true Christians, their sym- pathies, their oneness, their worship, their THE CHURCH AND THE wWorLD. 207 communion at the table of the Lord, is alto- gether independent of any authority beyond. that which issues from Christ himself, or is reflected in his image, as seen in men eminent for their humility, disinterestedness, and love, and, therefore, for their faith, piety, and practical wisdom. True indeed is it, that s¢zJ/, as in past ages, “the Spirit and the Bride say, Come.” But the voice of “ the Bride’ is not the voice of the priest, or the voice of a party, or the voice of the schoolmen, or the voice of the fathers,— greek or latin, or the voice of England or Scotland,—evangelical or arminian, high or low, broad or exclusive, but that great silent testimony which issues through all time, from apostles and prophets, from martyrs and confessors, from poor and rich, from the ignorant and the learned, from the living and the dead, witnessing evermore to the truth of Christ’s Holy Gospel,—to its in- fluence over mankind,—to its triumphs over the world,—to its sole and exclusive power to enlighten, to solace, to sustain, and to save. 208 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. Wretched, indeed, is the sophistry which would confound this sublime echo of the human heart, responding to the Divine, with the decisions of a council, or the dicta of a sect. And vain is it to expect, that, so long as errors like these prevail, Christ’s prayer can find its fulfilment, or the Church be recognized by the world as truly onz. A few more words in conclusion, and then these imperfect, though by no means hasty thoughts, shall be cast like “bread upon the waters,’’ in the firm belief that, whether neg- lected or scorned now, they will be found, and do their work, “after many days.” The vistBLE untry of the Church in all im- portant matters, and the visible MORAL ELE- vaTION of Christians as a body, over those by whom they are surrounded, are the conditions under which alone true Christianity can advance in the world. But how these great blessings are to be secured, it is hard to say ; it is the problem that this age or the next must solve, and it may be that, in either case, the solution will involve much suffering. THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 209 Perhaps, it is impossible that Christians should unite, before God has scattered them, or that the Church should be re-formed, before God has broken it up. Perhaps, in no other way is it practicable, to make men feel and act upon the conviction, that creeds are not Christianity, and that Scripture, as an authority, stands alone. Perhaps, never till they are deprived of Christian ordinances, will they be able to perceive their true mean- ing and value; to understand how it comes to pass, that the same preaching, which is needful for the feeble, ““enfeebles the strong ;”’ that what are called “religious advantages,”’ may easily become in practice great and fatal disadvantages,—so that many who, but for these things, would long since have been teachers of others, still “need to be taught the first principles of the oracles of God:” that men may have their Bibles in their hands, and yet cherish fraudulent designs in their hearts ; that banks may be opened with prayer, and yet end in gigantic swindling ; and that all this may arise, from the habitual 910 THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. separation, in Christian society, of doctrinal truth and moral truth,—a distinction quite unknown to the Apostles,—leading, as it invariably does, to the exaltation of the one, as the root of all goodness, and the conse- quent depression of the other, as mere secular virtue, which is sure to follow the reception of the Gospel. Before, however, this time of scattering comes, God will raise up prophets among us, as in former days; and such will have, as Elijah had, to learn to do without sympathy,— and to be content if they are misunderstood, and become isolated, and lose the affection even of the good,—sustained through all by this one thought, that—“ If the cross says anything, it says, that apparent defeat is real victory, and that there is a heaven for those who have nobly and truly failed on earth.” * 1 Robertson’s ‘* Sermons.” FINIS. London; J. & W RiveErR, Printers, 14, Bartholomew Close. ERRATA—Onmitted, foot note to page 72. Hymeneus and Alexander (1 Tim. i. 2C), who were “ delivered” by Paul, in the exercise of his Apostolic authority, “ unto Satan,” i.e., were judicially sentenced to disease and death (1 Cor. v. 5), were persons who put away “a good conscience,’ before they “‘ made shipwreck” of their faith, and learnt to blaspheme. It was the loss of tenderness of conscience, moral perversion, that ‘led to their apostasy. They were punished not for an error in doctrine, but for blasphemy. Itis also worthy of notice, that the “ heretic,’ whom Titus is directed after two admonitions to reject (Titus iii. 10), is ob- viously one who denied the necessity of good works (ver. 8), one who in so doing was ‘‘ condemned,’ even “of himself,” that is, of his own conscience. The object ofthe Epistle through- out, is to urge the necessity of a holy walk and conversation, and to condemn all teaching that led to practical ungodliness, The “ heretic” is obviously one who denied the Aoliness of the gospel, —a factious, and ungodly man. JUST PUBLISHED, BY THE SAME AUTHOR, Second Edition, with additional Notes, cloth extra, 1s. 6d., THE COMFORTER; OR, JOY IN THE HOLY GHOST. A WORD FOR THE RESTLESS. CONTENTS. CHAP.I. PRELIMINARY CONVERSATIONS ON THE GIFT OF THE COMFORTER. II. ScrIPTURAL DISTINCTIONS; OR, THE Two Dts- PENSATIONS, III. “THE COMMUNION OF THE HoLy GHost"~—ITs NATURE AND BLESSEDNESS. NOTE—OnN THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS BY Man. “This is a little book, but there is a great deal in it. Though the subject is a very familiar one, it is treated in no common-place manner, but with a mental independence and discrimination, and with a freshness and force of illustration, which stamp the treatise, brief as it is, with a permanent value.”’—Evangelical Christendom. ‘This little book possesses a value not to be estimated by its size. We have read it with great interest and delight, and esteem it far above many a portly volume.”— Evangelical Magazine. “ It is the work of a deep and independent thinker, and contains much that is true and beautiful.”"—Zwcelsior. ALSO BY DELTA, 18mo., 144 pages, cloth extra, price 1s. 6d., THE SYMBOLS OF THE APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED FROM THEIR USE 1N OTHER SCRIPTURES. FOR BIBLE CLASSES AND FAMILIES. The object of this little book is to promote the intelligent read- ing of the Apocalypse, apart from, and independent of, any par- ticular scheme of interpretation. No book in the Bible has a more fascinating interest for the young. It is our own fault if it is less useful than any other portion. London: HaMILron, ADAMS, and Co., Paternoster Row; and JaMES NISBET and Co., Berners Street. ALSO BY DELTA, Foolscap 8vo, 5s., extra boards, THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN, SIMPLY ANALYZED AND BRIEFLY EXPOUNDED. “To our judgment these are the most satisfactory notes on the Apocalypse which have appeared for some time. They are the production of a clear and sober understanding, not striving to map out with perilous precision that cutline which only the fulfilment can render definite."—English Presbyterian Messenger. “There is much calm sobriety of interpretation in this volume.’—Eclectic Review. We should be unjust not to acknowledge the great ability of this work, and its value as an aid to our interpretation of the Apocalypse.”— Watchman. London: HaMILToN, ADAMS, and Co., Paternoster Row; JAMES NISBET and Co., Berners Street. Just Published, Second Edition, 2s., cloth, extra, HOURS OF DEVOTION: A fPevditation , FOR EVERY DAY IN THE MONTH. TRANSLATED AND ABRIDGED FROM THE GERMAN OF DR. A. THOLUCK, By ANN anp CATHARINE H. DUNN. London: HAMILTON, ADAMs, and Co., Paternoster Row; JAMLS NISBET and Co., Berners Street. Saety F anpenl eae ge ee en eee ee ee ey ed ae ame = s ; ts Path ‘ i ey Ba item TALE el) ae a = ae pias th * oe ead aise ’s _ ~ - —t. y A ~ < > om . sae —_- ; oom eg i ae : : er vr ee cxet> a Sat re oe afte at it ps pepe ene ~ c= oe pe Sag ne eon BO = mer : Scag ae - ee me ve — ae ae flaarn’ é Ee AF 8 eS ry pron FS 5 2 a rut anal PP an os Zt ye ee ral my de aa ri aed oe ae edge eon ? 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