ready to give an answer to Him that asketh," and we may add to Him who desireth, “with meekness and fear :" that the servant of the LORD must be "gentle and apt to teach ;" yet it is said that he "must not strive." Foolish and unlearned questionings avoid, knowing that they gender strifes," is St. Paul's advice to the Christian minister. In the case of infidelity in the nearest of relatives, it is enjoined, that such may be gained over without argument, by "beholding chaste conversation, coupled with fear." To take a very strong instance of that subtle and secret hypocrisy which we have been speaking of, we all know that there are instances of persons standing forth as the public champions of a Church, or some form of faith, whose lives deny their belief in the very existence of a GOD. Let us take care that there be nothing of this, the same in kind, though less in degree, in ourselves. 8. Untenable objections on the ground of our present position. But there are some objections to this treatise, of a very obvious and simple kind, which it is difficult to know how to answer, as they arise from a strange misapprehension in limine of the nature of the subject: objections which, as was stated before, are necessarily implied in the very word revelation. It is thought, for instance, that the command, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel unto every creature," is an insurmountable objection to the whole argument. Whereas, it should be considered, that the whole matter under consideration is, not whether the Gospel is to be preached or not, for of course there could be no doubt among Christians on that subject, but respecting the most effectual mode of preaching it without taking this for granted as the first axiom among Christians, viz. that the Gospel is to be preached, the whole inquiry has no meaning. With rather more appearance of reason it is alleged, that our LORD's conduct is no example for us in this case; as He has said, "what I tell you in the ear, that preach ye on the housetops;" and "men do not light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the Untenable objections on the ground of our present position. 113 house." Now if there was any weight in these passages against this reserve, it would be merely that of one Scripture expression opposed to another; for there are several commands in the same discourse of an opposite character 1, and therefore of course they admit of explanation without contradicting each other. The obvious meaning of these passages of course is "Think not that My kingdom is to be confined, as now it is, to you few alone, it is to be preached to all the world;" and such a declaration evidently does not interfere with this principle of holy reserve, as the guide and mode of doing this most sincerely and effectually. And indeed to the latter text it is added, as if showing us the way by which we were to extend the truth, "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works," as Chrysostom says, not of course that they were to display their works in any way, but that if they keep the fire burning within them, it necessarily must shine. And besides which it appears, on many occasions, when expressions of this kind are used', that they have a reference also to the day of Judgment; as if it had been said, "Wonder not that My ways are so much in secret, and that I require your works also to be done so much in secret, and unlike those of the Pharisees; a time is coming when every thing whatever shall be publicly made known, to all men and angels." As if it were in some measure an explanation given, that that great manifestation will be a counterpart to this reserve. But that these expressions respecting the general knowledge of the Gospel throughout the world, do in no way affect this rule of reserve, will be evident if we consider the various periods of the Divine economy as various manifestations of CHRIST. And it will be easily perceived that they are all characterized by this same law. First of all the term manifestation is applied to our LORD's appearing in the flesh; it is applied to Him at His birth; it is applied to the coming and calling of the Gentiles; Thus St. Chrysostom observes, "Though it be every where preached, still it is a mystery; for as we have been commanded 'what things we have heard in the ear, to speak upon the housetops,' so have we been also charged, 'not to give the holy things unto dogs, nor yet to cast pearls before swine.' 1 Cor. Hom. vii. 3. 2 St. Luke xii. 2; viii. 16, &c. I VOL. V.-No. 87. it is applied to the Presentation in the temple; it is applied to our LORD at His Baptism and to the first miracle He performed in Cana of Galilee. It is applied to Him more especially in His miracles and teaching. All these we celebrate in the Epiphany, as will be seen in the successive Gospels for that season; but how secretly and mysteriously were they all conducted? All these are manifestations of GOD seen in the flesh, our Immanuel. And all these are with this reserve. In like manner the preaching of the Gospel, and the extension of the Kingdom, are more fully manifestations of GOD; but as in the former cases CHRIST was known and acknowledged but by a very few, notwithstanding those manifestations of Himself; so is it now. It is evident that in some sense even now the manifestation of Himself must be according to some law of exceeding reserve and secrecy, for our LORD has said that if any man will keep His commandments He will love him, and will manifest Himself unto him; that He would "manifest Himself to His disciples, and not unto the world." Now as it is too obvious that many do not keep His commandments, therefore to many He is not manifested. So that to us all, even now our LORD observes this rule of concealing Himself even in His manifestations; and therefore all His manifestations in His Church are ways of reserve. 9. This principle more than ever needed. But great surprise is expressed, because we have maintained. that the spread of religious knowledge throughout the world renders it a matter for serious apprehension, lest we should abuse that knowledge. Surely, since to him who knoweth and doeth not to him it is sin, all knowledge of GoD should be accompanied with this apprehension. All things seem to be tending to the one great manifestation of GoD, in the day of Judgment, which will be in destruction as well as in salvation; and therefore it may be, as intimations going before of that time, that all manifestations of God even now are awful, and often as it were kept back with a gracious and merciful forbearance to mankind. It will, I think, be observed in Scripture throughout, that greater manifestations of God, and declarations accompanied with the least reserve, are ever the most awful and severe. For instance, when St. John the Baptist first of all proclaimed the kingdom, it was with fearful words,-of" the axe at the root of the tree," and the "fire unquenchable." And when our LORD went up at last to Jerusalem, He spoke more openly and publicly, before the Jews and in the temple; but then the things that belonged unto their peace were hidden from their eyes, and they could not believe; and His teaching was far more severe than it had been; therefore the more open manifestation was an awful matter, a matter for serious apprehension. Again, after His death the Jews were given one trial more ; the HOLY GHOST was sent down, and the preaching of the Gospel was more open and public than ever before, and this preceded their condemnation; as if in some degree, and in some sense, guilty of sin against the HOLY GHOST, of the terrible effects of which they had been so strongly warned; then their final destruction This more public manifestation therefore was, I say, matter for serious apprehension. came. A far more extensive manifestation is now taking place over the whole world. Now the event to be apprehended in the last days, as closing the period of the world's trial, when GoD will spare it no longer, is sin against the HOLY SPIRIT. And one does not see how this can take place, how the SPIRIT can be rejected, excepting when the SPIRIT is manifested. Therefore the knowledge of religion, which is now extending over the world, is a matter for serious apprehension. Not of course that this consideration affords any reason for withholding that knowledge for to preach the Gospel to the world, is our office and duty, whether men will hear, or whether they will forbear; we are bound to do it, μαρτυρεῖν καὶ κηρύσσειν ; but to learn how we may best do it is the part of Christian wisdom. But our having this knowledge should lead us to take the more heed, that we do not fall into that sin for which there are provided no further means of recovery. And let it be remembered that the whole of this treatise is, under another name, on the subject of irreverence; but as rever ential words, or a reverential demeanour, may be but a specious. irreverence and hypocrisy, this sacred reserve seems a better designation. Every step in this irreverence, every indication of it, is so far a state of progress towards the sin against the Holy SPIRIT. And as this latter is unpardonable, so we may perceive that a state of irreverence, where it has thoroughly affected the character, is irremediable. For if men have lost all reverence for GOD, how can they pray to Him? and if they cannot, nor have any sense of reverence for His power, who can help them? Under any other circumstances men may be guilty of the worst sins, and when greater light is manifested to them, even at the last hour, they may repent and be forgiven: but when that light has been habitually rejected, the case becomes very different, the SPIRIT is quenched, the light within is darkened. When the power of acknowledging God's presence, which is the eye of the soul, is lost, what else can restore it? None can approach Him without His help, and His help cannot be attained without a reverential acknowledgment of His presence. A danger It would appear, therefore, that under the dispensation of grace in which we live, in the light of these full revelations of GOD, as the highest privileges are to be derived from a due acknowledgment of GoD, so there is the greatest conceivable danger from an absence of that fear and reverence. incalculably increased, and infinitely beyond that of former generations, if our knowledge be so much greater. And this irreverence is more especially to be guarded against in all our approaches to GOD, and our imperfect modes of serving Him. We must remember that one of the Ten commandments refers to it, which is expressed in more awful terms than any other,-viz., that we take not that awful Name in vain, the meaning of which is not to be limited to open profaneness, but must be as extensive in its intentions as all the other commandments. It is to be observed, again, that the first petition in the LORD's prayer seems to be for this reverence of mind, as the first thing to be obtained in all acts of devotion, a prayer that God's Name may be hallowed: the efficacy of our prayers depending on the reverential regard we have for that dreadful Name: And the last clause in the same prayer is an act |