798 Mankind responsible for their Religious Opinions. earnest prayer for his blessing and Again: this desire to obey the The fact, thus scripturally asserted, is conformable to what we might naturally expect from a due consideration of the circumstances of the case. For, in the first place, a person who advances to the study of the sacred oracles with a humble determination to obey the will of God, avoids most of those sources of error which have been mentioned in a former part of these remarks. Not having any wish to render his religious scheme subservient to the indulgence of "the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eye, or the pride of life," he is not biassed by a false self-interest to explain away to his own conscience the awful declarations of the word of God relative to [APP. sin and sinners. His researches not being conducted with a view to any sinister or merely secondary object, he is not tempted "to wrest the Scriptures to his own condemnato know the mind, and to obey the tion." His paramount desire being commands, of God, he will be content, in simplicity and godly sincerity, to follow wherever the Scriptures of truth may lead. His moral endowments, his humility, his integrity, his fear of error, his love of to guard him from the insidious truth, will prove a constant panoply wiles of his spiritual enemy, and from the suggestions of those evilminded men whose quarrel with the Gospel is more an affair of the heart than of the understanding. an interesting illustration of the The parable of the Sower affords foregoing remarks. The seed sowed was but of one sort; the hand that sowed the different portions of it it sprang up and bore fruit abunwas the same; yet in some instances dantly, while in others it was either devoured by the fowls of the air, or withered unserviceable shew of vegetation. away after a short and Whence arose the difference in these cases? The narrative itself informs us. 66 In the former, it was sown in heart prepared by the Holy Spirit, an honest and good heart;" a and an earnest wish to obey the will through penitence, faith, humility, of God, for its reception; while in ficial or a rocky soil, or among briars the latter, it fell either upon a superand the deceitfulness of riches,' and thorns, "the cares of the world, which choked it, so that it brought forth no fruit to perfection. humble and ingenuous inquirer will The third and chief reason why a attain to a right understanding in religion, while those whose immorality of heart or life proves their practical indifference to the subject are left to the natural blindness of the human understanding, is intimated in that inspired promise; ment; the meek will He teach his "The meek will He guide in judg way." It is not enough that there be diligence in study; it is not even enough that the heart be in a state of preparation; for, in addition to this, the Divine blessing and guidance are still requisite to prevent our being deluded by plausible error or misconception. Not only must the organ of vision be opened and turned towards the object, but there must be light from above in order to discern it. And hence we are taught, both in Scripture and by our church, to pray for the illuminating influences of the Holy Spirit; not indeed the sensible impulses claimed by the enthusiast, but that ordinary and unseen agency by which God is pleased to "work in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure." This sacred guidance is promised to all who diligently seek it: so that to every Christian we may apply, at least subordinately, the words of the Apostle; "We have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." "Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and know all things." The narrative of Cornelius, the Roman centurion, furnishes a striking corroboration of the preceding arguments. He is described as "a devout man, one that feared God with all his house, who gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway." Conscientious in his character, and doubtless guided, though unknown to himself, by the secret influences of the Holy Spirit, he endeavoured to act up to his imperfect knowledge of the Divine will, at the same time earnestly wishing for a clearer discovery of it than he had hitherto enjoyed, or than his profession and opportunities of instruction seemed likely to afford. Thus devoutly disposed, he was keeping a solemn fast, and was occupied in prayer at the hour of the evening sacrifice, when an angel was divinely commissioned to appear to him, and to direct him in what manner to obtain those in structions which issued in his plenary information and baptism into the faith of Christ. The case of the Ethiopian Eunuch is somewhat analogous. He evinced his sincere desire to obey the will of God, and his preparation of heart to receive the doctrine of the Gospel, by taking a long journey in order to worship at Jerusalem; by diligently perusing the holy Scriptures, "which were able to make him wise to salvation;" and by gladly accepting the proffered instructions of Philip, who had been expressly commissioned by an angel to meet him on his way. In both these instances we see the promises before cited, of Divine guidance to the humble and obedient inquirer, fulfilled, not only in a very remarkable but even a miraculous manner: yet the very circumstances which exclude these cases from the rank of ordinary precedents, prove most forcibly the general truth under consideration; for we find from these narratives, that, sooner than a heart prepared and disposed to receive religious instruction should be left finally destitute of it, an angel was commissioned from Heaven, and an apostle or other special messenger appointthe necessary intellied to convey gence. The circumstances of these two memorable instances will further supply a satisfactory answer to some of the chief objections which may possibly be alleged against the views contained in the preceding pages. Should it be urged, for example, on the one hand, by a mere systematic doctrinalist, that an endeavour, however ingenuous, to obey the commands of God, while there remains great doctrinal ignorance in the mind, is not likely to lead beyond formalism or pharisaism; nay, is even less favourable to a humble reception of the Gospel, than a state of allowed vice; these remarkable instances, in which the Almighty was pleased to honour such a teachable disposition of mind with peculiar 5K 2 approbation, and to gratify the desires of these penitent inquirers by miraculously sending to them the knowledge of the truth, will prove the fallacy of so unscriptural an hypothesis. The case of the Scribes and Pharisees, of whom our Lord said that publicans and sinners should enter the kingdom of God before them, was of a very different kind. In those haughty self-justitiaries there was no disposition conscientiously to perform even the ordinary duties of morality: they subverted the Divine Law by vain traditions and superstitions; and, far from exhibiting any tenderness of conscience, any disposition to practise what they already knew, and to look humbly for further instruction, they were perfectly contented with their own attainments, and even made use of their knowledge in order to relax, by disingenuous glosses, the obligations of the system which they professed. It is obvious that such characters possessed nothing in common with the devout and diffident inquirer to whom exclusively the promises of Divine illumination are made. Or should it be urged, on the other hand, by a far more numerous class of objectors, that moral conduct is all that is necessary for human salvation; should it be said, in contradiction to the declarations of Scripture, and the language of our established church, that "every man shall be saved by the law or sect which he professeth, so that he be diligent to frame his life according to that law, and the light of nature;" we have here two remarkable cases, in which God saw fit in a most conspicuous manner to evince the necessity of Divine revelation in general, and particularly of faith in the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ*, *The doctrine of the atonement, and the chief points connected with the person and offices of the Divine Surety, seem to have been the especial subject of Philip's conversation with the Eunuch; for it is said, "The place of the Scripture which he read was this; He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb dumb be and the other distinguishing doctrines of the Gospel, by sending chosen servants expressly to instruct Cornelius and the Ethiopian Eunuch in points of this nature, notwithstanding their previous devoutness and moral deportment. In short, should it be argued, that, upon the hypothesis which it has been the object of these pages to enforce, any point of Christian faith or practice is rendered unnecessary, we may confidently appeal to the two examples under consideration to prove the contrary. Should it be doubted, for example, whether an ingenuous desire to obey the will of God, even before we are fully acquainted with it, is an important and characteristic mark of incipient conversion, we may adduce the history of Cornelius and the Ethiopian Eunuch, to shew how conspicuous a place such a disposition occupied in the first stages of their religious inquiries. Or should it be urged, that if practical obedience be of so much importance, there is no great necessity for prayer or sacred study, the objector may be reminded that it was while the Roman Centurion was fasting and praying, and the Ethiopian Treasurer was diligently reading the Scriptures, that God was pleased to mark his approval of their conduct bysending to them the means of further instruction. Or should it be objected that the preceding remarks would reduce religion to mere ingenuousness of principle, thus superceding the necessity for correctness of religious doctrine and faith, these very narratives teach quite a different lesson; for Philip expressly said, "If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest be baptized; and he answered and said, fore his shearers, so opened he not his mouth in his humiliation his judgment was taken away, and who shall declare his generation? for his life was taken from the earth.' Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same Scripture and preached unto him Jesus,"-doubtless in the capacity in which this and other prophets represented him, as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." And lastly, should it be urged that if practical obedience has such a tendency to lead to scriptural knowledge, the agency of the Holy Spirit is rendered unnecessary, it is obvious to reply from the same narratives, that it was the Holy Spirit who, unseen by mortal eyes, implanted and fostered the rising graces of Cornelius and the Ethiopian Eunuch, who further provided the means for their instruction, who opened their hearts to receive it, and who is expressly mentioned as having been present by his Divine influences with both these devout men at their baptism; thus shewing throughout the whole process of their conversion, the need of his own all-powerful agency, even while he saw fit to employ the ordinary means of prayer, and fasting, and preparatory dispositions, and the study of the Scriptures, and the Christian ministry and sacraments, to effect his gracious purposes. While thus alluding to some of the principal arguments which may be urged against the main propositions which have been attempted to be established, it may be well to advert to another objection which at first sight appears somewhat plausible; namely, that, in point of fact, we often find, in the current phrase, " a weak head joined with an honest heart;" so that the doctrine contended for cannot be generally true. To this it is only necessary to reply, that we have no sufficient proof of the alleged fact that an ingenuous desire to know God, and to obey his will, is not always able in due time, by means of the appointed assistances and means of grace, to overcome any obstacles which may arise from want of vigour of understanding; provided, of course, the inaptitude be not of such an extent as to render the individual incapable of exercising the ordinary mental functions of a rational and responsible agent. Indeed, we not unfrequently observe persons of very confined in tellect, and with but feeble means of instruction, acquainted, in a surprising degree, with religious subjects, and able both to reason and to act in spiritual concerns with a propriety which ought to put to the blush many learned and intellectual, but only nominal, Christians. Besides all which, we must never forget to add the promised assistance of God's Holy Spirit, who will not suffer those who humbly and diligently seek instruction, to perish for want of it. "If thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thy heart to understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures, then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God; for the Lord giveth wisdom, and out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.' Such is the Divine promise; and sooner than it shall fail, a Peter shall be sent to instruct a Cornelius, or a Philip be commissioned to seek out a remote Ethiopian stranger. And if such miraculous interpositions are not to be expected in our own day, (as of course they are not,) it is only because they are no longer necessary for the fulfilment of the Divine promises. The Almighty can and will render the ordinary means of grace, by the blessing of his Holy Spirit, amply sufficient for the instruction of all who are really solicitous to learn. Their progress in Divine knowledge may, in many cases, be slow; and their views, after all their efforts, may never become very expansive or elevated; but of thus much we may rest assured, that they shall be preserved from every essential error, and "be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation," in that narrow road which leadeth to life everlasting. "A highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness: the unclean shall not pass over it; but the way-faring men, though fools, shall not err therein." It is not necessary to salvation to be inti mately acquainted with every topic even in theology; much less is it essential for our knowledge to be collected at the first glance by the intuitive sagacity of a perspicacious intellect. The most humble and teachable penitent may for a considerable time find his mind distressed or disturbed: he may wander long in doubt or difficulty; but he shall not wander fatally or finally. Implicit self-dedication to God; prayer for the Divine direction; avoiding pride, obstinacy, and levity on sacred subjects; and conscientiously seeking every opportunity of instruction, constitute a far surer road to Christian knowledge, as well as to faith, than the laborious triflings of a powerful but self-sufficient understanding. Another objection which may be anticipated to the position laid down in these pages, and the last to which we shall allude, is, that the doctrine contended for is unfortunately too well founded; for that in truth the devout admission of the peculiarities of Christianity is only a pious prejudice, and that such a state of mind as has been described is therefore a very suitable preparation for it. The infidel notoriously urges this argument; and many who assume to themselves the title of rational Christians occasionally employ it, at least in a modified form. "What connexion," it is asked, 66 can moral sensations have with intellectual verities? If a man is not likely thoroughly to understand and believe the Gospel till he is prepared to obey it, is it not a proof that prepossession rather than argument effected his conversion? Ought not every doctrine professing to come from God to carry with it such irresistible evidence that a man must understand and believe it, what ever may be his secret wishes, or how ever strong his natural prejudices ?" -To this it may be fairly replied, that Christianity is demonstrable irrefragably demonstrable-by argument; a point on which it is surely not necessary here to enlarge after the many invaluable treatises which have appeared on the subject. But however demonstrable Christianity, or any of its peculiar doctrines, may be proved to be, still moral, and indeed spiritual, dispositions are required for investigating its claims: for where such dispositions do not exist, there will not even be the taste or capacity for such an investigation; any more than a person destitute of musical perceptions would be likely voluntarily, and for no purpose, to devote himself to the study of Handel, or a man singularly averse to mathematical reasoning to the Principia of Newton. It is not therefore derogating from the demonstrable character of the Gospel, to admit, that though its Divine Author might doubtless have rendered its evidences irresistible, even to the most careless or hardened opponent, he has seen fit to connect the whole of Revelation with a system of moral discipline, and to render an obedient heart the surest guide to a perception of its character and evidences. In truth, we may fairly contend, that, had the Gospel been a system appealing merely to abstract reasoning, and as susceptible of being correctly estimated by a proud and vicious, as by a humble and dutiful, inquirer, it would have lost one of its strongest evidences; namely, its wonderful adaptation to the actual habits of mankind, whose reasonings are almost in every instance strongly affected by their personal character and feelings, and who could never have been induced, without a direct miracle, generally to embrace Christianity, even as a system, had it been presented to them in the aspect which the advocates for abstract reasoning unconnected with moral obedience contend that it ought to have assumed. But this is a large field, into which it is impracticable in the present papers to enter. Let it suffice to have suggested the topic for the consideration of those who have not |