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 THE 
 
 SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
I'KINTEIJ BY HALLANTYNE. HANSON AND CO. 
 EDINBUKCJH AND LONDON. 
 

 >; 
 
 THE 
 
 * JAN 19 1911 
 
 ^^So. 
 
 'I^mki se!:a^ 
 
 SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE; 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE ADAPTATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO THE 
 NATURE AND CONDITION OF MAN. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. JOHN COOPER. 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON, 
 
 CROWN BiriLDINGS, i8S FLEET STREET. 
 
 \^All rights resat'ci/.] 
 
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 It is now ten years since the First Edition of the 
 " Science of Spiritual Life " was published. During 
 these years many books on religious subjects have 
 issued from the press, but though carefully watching, 
 I have not yet^seen any book which has attempted 
 to deal with the wide and important subject to the 
 elucidation of which this volume is devoted. A 
 fertile region, therefore, I am sorry to say, is allowed 
 in great measure to remain unproductive. 
 
 As indicated in the Preface to the First Edition, 
 the book was written and put through the press under 
 very disadvantageous circumstances, and in con- 
 sequence blemishes were allowed to pass, which in 
 other circumstances would not have found place. 
 These blemishes have now in part been removed, 
 yet this Second Edition is substantially the same 
 as the First. The following are the main changes 
 which have been made : — A new Introduction has 
 been substituted. The substance of the Appendix 
 has been inwrought into the chapter on the Power 
 of Reconciliation, and the twenty-third chapter, 
 entitled "Inspiration," has been recast, and now 
 constitutes chapter third, and is entitled "The 
 
vi PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 Transmission and Reception of Truth." These are 
 the principal changes which have been made in the 
 Look, at all events, the only changes which call for 
 special notice. 
 
 I cannot allow this opportunity to pass without 
 referring to the second chapter — a chapter over 
 which it would seem many have been sorely exercised. 
 This chapter I have still retained, for this reason, viz., 
 the book is intended for those who are familiar with 
 the style of thought which runs through that chapter, 
 as well as for those to whom it is strange ; the former 
 may be able to appreciate it, the latter may pass on 
 to the following chapters, and do little violence to 
 the course of the aro^ument. 
 
 A word to my reviewers. They may herein see 
 how far their criticisms and suggestions have been 
 approved of by me, and I would take this opportunity 
 of thanking them for the courteous and, I may add, 
 encouraging manner in which for the most part they 
 have reviewed my labours. 
 
 The book, with all its imperfections, I now again 
 send forth in the service of Him who accepts the 
 feeblest efforts put forth for His glory, and for the 
 good of man. 
 
PREFACE TU THE FIRST EDITION. 
 
 The principles evolved iu this volume have received 
 the attention of the writer for years. In venturing 
 to give them to the world, he is not without the 
 humble hope that they may (under the Divine 
 blessing), be made instrumental in helping to 
 establish the cause of truth, and to promote the 
 glory of God. He regrets that the circumstances 
 under which he has committed his ideas to writing, 
 and thereafter passed them through the press, have 
 not been of the most favourable character for the 
 production of such a work. The statement of this 
 fact will in some measure explain, while it does 
 not excuse, and is not intended to justify, the 
 imperfections of the book. A just and impartial 
 criticism is not shunned, but will rather be wel- 
 comed. The work is put forth as a small contribu- 
 tion to the great cause of truth, and while, in the 
 full consciousness of its imperfections, it is laid at 
 the feet of the great Teacher of the race, it is at 
 the same time offered for the perusal of thoughtful 
 men. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 INTRODUCTION ...... I 
 
 I. MAN A RELIGIOUS BEING, IN AN IRRELIGIOUS EFFORT 
 
 AND HELPLESS CONDITION . . . .26 
 
 II. TRUTH IN ITS HIGHER MANIFESTATIONS . . .40 
 
 III. THE TRANSMISSION AND RECEPTION OP TRUTH . . 57 
 
 IV. THE PRIMARY LAWS OP PERCEPTION, OR THE CONDITIONED 
 
 OP HUMAN BELIEF . . . . -76 
 
 V. THE PRINCIPLES OF THE DIVINE ADMINISTRATION . 84 
 
 VI. COMBINATION OR CAUSATION . . . -94 
 
 VII. THE POWER OP CHOICE . . . 1 . • I06 
 
 VIII. TRIAL . . . . . . .12 1 
 
 IX. RETRIBUTION . . . , , -135 
 
 X. INABILITY . , . . . • 151 
 
 XI, RECONCILIATION . . . . . -175 
 
 XII. POWER OF RECONCILIATION . . . '193 
 
 XIII. MEDIUM OF RECONCILIATION .... 244 
 
 XIV. CONDITION OP RECONCILIATION . . . -259 
 XV. AGENT OF RECONCILIATION .... 270 
 
 XVL CAPACITY OP THE HUMN FOR THE INDWELLING OF THE 
 
 DIVINE . . . . . ,281 
 
 XVII. RECEPTION OP CHRIST . . . . . 29I 
 
 XVIII. THE INDWELLING OF THE DIVINE IN THE HUMAN . . ^OO 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. Page 
 
 XIX. UNION OP THE HUMAN WITH THE DIVINE . . 309 
 
 XX. UNION AND UNITY OP BELIEVERS WITH ONE ANOTHER IN 
 
 THEIR UNION AND UNITY WITH CHRIST . . 316 
 
 XXI. EXALTATION OP THE HUMAN IN THE SONSHIP OF 
 
 BELIEVERS ..... 
 
 XXII. PERFECTION ..... 
 
 326 
 338 
 
 XXin. DUTY AND RATIONALE OF PRAYER . . . 346 
 
 XSIV. CONCLUSION ...... 369 
 
'h'/Lc €(/." '"o 0'^5 Tou KoafjLOV — JoHN viii. 12. 
 
 'E7W rfKBov tva iurjv e'xwo'ti' Kal vepicahv j'xwcnj'.— John x. 10. 
 
 'E7W djjii 6 dpTos TTjs i'wjys' — John vi. 35. 
 
 A/XTju dfj.rjv "keyw i'luv, b Tnarevuv els ifie e^et ^urjv aucviov. — JoHN vi. 47. 
 
 The Master. 
 
 "Ore oe €v56K7]aev 6 Oeds' 6 a<popiffas /ue eV KoiXias fJ,r]Tp6s fiov /cat /caXecras 5ia t-^s 
 XdpiTOi avTov dTTOKokvipai top vlbv avrov eV ipLol, "va. eva^yy iKi^up-ai avrov kv to~s 
 edveatV—GAL. i. 15, 16. 
 
 Zw 6e ovKeTL iyu ^fj be iv ipLol Xptcrros 6 be vvv ftj iv aapKi ev Triarei. fw 717 tou 
 vlov Tov Qeou 70V dyaxriffavTos fie Kal TrapabovTos eavrbv vir^p e/xov. — Gal. ii. 20. 
 
 'E7W yap ijoT] aTrevbofxai Kal 6 Kaipbs t^j eM-Tis dva\vaeu)s ecpecTTjKe. tov dydva 
 TOV Ka\bv Tiyil'VLCTfiai, tov bpop-ov TereXeKa, tj]v niffTiv TeTrjpr)Ka' Xoiirbv, dnoKeiTai 
 f.101 6 TTJs 5i.Katoaivris CTeipavos, bv drrobiJjffei. fioi b Kvpios ^v eKelvQ ttj Ttp-epa, 6 
 biKaiOS KpLTvs' ov jxbvov be i/xol, &\\a Kal iracrt" tois rjyaTrrjKoai T^^jv eintpdveiav 
 ai'Tov. — 2 Tim. iv . 6, 8. 
 
 '0 be' Ou fialvo/JLai, (p'']<rl, KpaTtare ^rjare, dXX' aXrjOeias Kal au<ppoaiJV7jS p-qfxaTa 
 diro<p9eyyonai. — Acts xxvi. 25. 
 
 The Slave tvho, hi 
 the spirit of Jus londage, realised the highest liberty. 
 
THE 
 
 SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Judging by tlie signs of tlie present day, it "vvonld 
 'appear tliat tlie time has now come when a scientific 
 exhibition of the facts and principles of Christianity 
 may be set forth with advantage ; indeed, we may go 
 further than this, and affirm that such a setting forth 
 of the doctrines of Christianity has become an im- 
 perative necessity. 
 
 In many of the religious controversies which from 
 time to time have agitated the minds of men, par- 
 ticular doctrines have been fully discussed, and the 
 result has been in most cases a more exact estimate of 
 their scientific value. This, however, is not exactly 
 what is most required in the present day. The 
 Christian apologist cannot afford always to be 
 waging war on behalf of this, that, or the other doc- 
 trine of his religion ; it is prudent and needful to 
 bring together the whole of the ascertained facts and 
 doctrines of his faith, and by making the best possible 
 disposition of his forces, see what is the precise posi- 
 tion which he occupies. 
 
2 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 Scientific exliibition aiul development in all cases 
 naturally follow an inductive period, a period wliicli 
 is lon<xer or shorter accordinix to circumstances. In 
 the spiritual sphere few if any great outstanding facts 
 remain to be o-athered to2jetlier, and the work of the 
 scientist in this direction is to , discover exactly in 
 what direction these data jioint — what they enable 
 him to affirm, and what to deny. He is not, of 
 course, in doing so, to confine himself solely to the 
 facts developed under Christianity ; this no doubt is 
 his main source, but he is at the same time to avail 
 himself of all facts, from whatever source, that bear 
 upon the task which he undertakes. 
 
 A clear conception of the religions of the world 
 affords no small aid to him who would form a just 
 estimate of the scientific value of Christian doctrine. 
 Such a one will find that Christianity though new, 
 yet in one sense is not new ; he will find that in the 
 religions of the world there are rays scattered and 
 broken and unintelligible in tliemselves, which are 
 gathered up into one grand luminous centre in Chris- 
 tianity. What in these religions is a dark enigma, is 
 made plain in the light which Christianity has thrown 
 upon spiritual being. In other words, Christianity 
 brings to the spiritual in man what that spiritual had 
 lost and was craving after, but in such a form as 
 longing humanity could never have conceived of. 
 The difference between the religions of earth and 
 Christianity is this, — the religions of earth are the 
 yearnings, the guessings, the gropings of the human 
 after the Divine. Christianity is the Divine descend- 
 
INTR on UC2V0N. 3 
 
 ing into, possessing, and monlding tlie Iinman after 
 Itself. 
 
 A strange use, or rather misuse, has been made of 
 the forms in which the spiritual element in man has 
 found vent before the comino- of Christ. Judaism 
 itself has not escaped the same kind of abuse at the 
 hands even of some who profess great zeal for the 
 religion of Jesus. Indeed, many seem to tliink it 
 needful to show their zeal by dis-esteeming and prac- 
 tically cutting all connection between Christianity and 
 the Jewish Cultus : we are, I trust, beginning to learn 
 a more excellent way. The following extract glances 
 at a profound truth : " AVhat distinguishes man from 
 all other creatures, and not only raises him above the 
 animal world, but removes him altogether from the 
 confines of a merely natural existence, is the feeling 
 of Sonship inherent in and inseparable from human 
 nature. That feeling may find expression in a thou- 
 sand ways, but there breathes through all of them the 
 unextinguishable conviction, ' it is He that made us 
 and not we ourselves.' That feeling of Sonship may 
 witli some races manifest itself with fear and trem- 
 bling, and it may drive w^hole generations into reli- 
 gious madness and devil-worship. In other countries 
 it may tempt the creature into a fatal familiarity with 
 the Creator, and end in an apotheosis of man or a 
 headlong plunging of the human into the divine." '"■ 
 
 Eeligious or spiritual life in its widest acceptation 
 has taken many crude and even revolting and disgust- 
 ing forms of expression ; but the wise man will not be 
 
 * Chips from a German Workshop, i. 352. 
 
4 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 scared away from his investigation on that account, 
 any more than will a physiologist be driven away from 
 his labours because they are at times the reverse of 
 pleasant. It may indeed seem strange that the reli- 
 gious feelings of men should take such crude forms as 
 we find prevailing in different ages, and yet, read in 
 the light of the perplexity expressed on the subject of 
 religion in our own day by not a few cultivated minds, 
 there is nothing to be surprised at in all this. It 
 requires no great stretch of imagination to picture to 
 ourselves those who deny the Christian's God — men 
 of the most advanced materialistic school, yet very 
 angry at being charged with Atheism, inasmuch as 
 they admit an unknown and unknowable something, 
 which may, for all they know to the contrary, be God, — 
 it is easy to fancy, we say, such men the grossest of all 
 idolaters while as yet the taper of physical knowledge 
 burned low. Extremes in such matters usually have 
 a point of contact. 
 
 Be this, however, as it may, to us it appears that the 
 crudo and even revolting forms of which we sj^eak are 
 in part to be explained objectively and in part sub- 
 jectively. It is all very well for such men as the late 
 J. S. Mill (who was by far the ablest man of the school 
 of thought to which he belonged) to say that the 
 benefits of Christ's teaching, like that of other masters, 
 whatever it amounts to, is now as a matter of fact our 
 possession, and that such truths are strong enough 
 of themselves to retain the belief of mankind after 
 they have acquired them.'"" Idens of this sort go far 
 
 * Essay on the Ulility of Religion. 
 
INTR on UCTION. 5 
 
 to lead men of certain tendencies in religion to 
 deny that men ever possessed a clearer view than 
 they now have of moral and religious truth. The 
 affirmation of such men is that the course of man 
 has ever been upward— he cannot sink and lose 
 hold of truths once laid hold of. In opposition, 
 however, to this, we hold by the superior wisdom 
 and philosophy of one old writer Avlien he says, 
 "Because that, Avhen they knew God, they glorified 
 Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became 
 vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart 
 was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, 
 they became fools, and changed the glory of the 
 uncorruptible God into an image made like to 
 corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, 
 and creeping things." 
 
 A downward course became a necessity, when men 
 had separated themselves from very close fellowshii) 
 with God. The difficulties which encompassed man 
 on all sides at first, before he could have experience 
 and make a history for himself, were necessarily 
 very great, so great that nothing short of constant 
 intercourse Avith God could have prevented him 
 from falling into idolatry of the grossest kind. In 
 the absence of knowledge and experience, even a 
 pure heart could not have always proved a suffi- 
 cient defence for man without close contact with 
 his Creator. The very instrument of thought — viz., 
 lano;uaQ;e — was itself misleadins;. How much our 
 progenitors knew of the nature of God we are not 
 
 * Rom. i. 21-23. > 
 
6 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LI IE. 
 
 in a position to say ; but the liigliest view necessitated 
 by tlie account of Creation given in Genesis does 
 not carry us very far. And the fossils of language 
 embedded in the Shemitic, Aryan, and Turanian 
 strata, seem to indicate that the spiritual Avas 
 better known and more clearly realised before these 
 main stems put forth their many shoots than for 
 long afterwards. Yet, as an instrument of spiritual 
 thought, language was miserably imperfect. Let us 
 listen to what an able linguist has to say on this 
 point. After referring to primeval civilisation, ]\Iax 
 Miiller says : " And let us not turn away and say 
 that this, after all, Avas but nature-worship and 
 idolatry. No ; it was not meant for that, though 
 it may have been degraded into that in later times : 
 Dyans did not mean the blue sky, nor was it simply 
 the blue sky personified ; it was meant for somethiug 
 else. We have in the Veda the invocations Dyans 
 Pilar, the Greek Ztv Tlarep, the Latin Jupiter ; and 
 that means in all the three lano^uao^es what it meant 
 before these three lano-uafres were torn asunder — it 
 means Heaven Father ! These two words are not 
 mere words, they are to my mind the oldest poem, 
 the oldest prayer of mankind, or at least of that 
 pure branch of it to which we belong ; and I am as 
 firmly convinced that this prayer was uttered, that 
 this name was given to the Unknown God before 
 Sanskrit was Sanskrit and Greek was Greek. As 
 when I see the Lord's Prayer in the language of 
 Polynesia and Milanesia, I feel certain that it was 
 first uttered in the lane^uno^e of Jerusalem. . . . Thou- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 sands of years Lave passed since the Aryan nations 
 separated to travel to the North and the South, 
 the West and the East. They have each formed 
 their languages ; they have each founded empires and 
 philosophies ; they have each Luilt temples and razed 
 them to the ground ; they have all grown older, and 
 it may be wiser and better ; but when they search 
 for a name for what is most exalted and most dear 
 to every one of us, when they wish to express both 
 awe and love, the infinite and the finite, they can but 
 do what their old fathers did, when gazing up to the 
 eternal sky and feeling the presence of a Being as 
 far as far, and as near as near can be : they can but 
 combine the self-same words and utter once more 
 the primeval Aryan prayer, Heaven Father, in that 
 form which will endure for ever, ' Our Father which 
 art in heaven.' " * 
 
 In course of time, when men forgot God, when 
 they not only wandered away from the cradle of 
 humanity but from God Himself, language became 
 from its poverty a snare to them, and gradually the 
 words and names applied to God led to the pantheons 
 of Greece and Eome, and the other degrading forms 
 of worship with which we are acquainted. 
 
 What we are chiefly to bear in mind are the 
 spiritual indications which lie embedded in all these 
 varying forms, however wicked and absurd we may 
 in many respects truly regard them. And it will be 
 found that these indications outweio-h a hundred- 
 fold all the atheistic appearances which meet us in 
 
 * Science of Eeligioiij p. 172. 
 
8 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRnUAL LIFE. 
 
 history, and in part explain tliem ; for to sucli an 
 extent did the spiritual impulse within drive men at 
 times, that many were led to ask if there could be 
 any objective foundation for such fancies, and not 
 being able to discover any, and identifying religion 
 itself with these caricatures of it, they threw it aside 
 altogether. They were atheists, therefore, not from 
 rejecting the God of heaven whom they never knew, 
 but because no god worthy of their worship was 
 placed before them. 
 
 We have now to look at the position assumed by 
 those who attempt to deal scientifically with the sub- 
 ■ject handled in this volume ; and these resolve them- 
 selves, with all their minor differences, into two princi- 
 pal and opposing methods. A preliminary statement, 
 however, may be necessary, and here the words of 
 another are so applicable that no apology is needed 
 for their insertion : "In these our days it is almost 
 impossible to speak of religion without giving offence 
 either on the right or on the left. With some, 
 religion seems too sacred a subject for scientific 
 treatment ; with others, it stands on a level with 
 alchemy and astrology, as a mere tissue of errors 
 or hallucinations ftir beneath the notice of the man 
 of science."* We have little in common with either 
 jiarty. We have no great idea of the intelligence of 
 the man who cannot see that there are religious jTac^s, 
 as truly facts as anything which 2)hysical science in 
 any of its departments has to lay before us. The 
 superficial trilling which denies not only any given 
 
 * Science of Religion, p. 6. 
 
INTRODUCTION. . 9 
 
 explanation of tliese facts, but tlie facts tliemselves, 
 can hardly be mucli longer tolerated ; and in point 
 of fact, this class of atheists is dying out, for the 
 present at least. With such persons we can hold no 
 intercourse, for in the present treatise there is no 
 (rround common to them and ourselves. We feel 
 bound to take for granted from the first certain 
 great spiritual facts, which to our mind are so 
 established that they can easily bear all the 
 weight of the superstructure which is herein raised 
 upon them. 
 
 On the other hand, there arc those who have a 
 strange dislike to any and every attempt at dealing 
 in a scientific manner with spiritual things, generally 
 speaking. Such persons have no great sympathy 
 with science in any way (they perceive not that the 
 scientific handling of Christian principles is the only 
 true safeguard from superstition on the one hand and 
 rationalism on the other). Now, to quiet all needless 
 apprehensions, we should say that truth does not fear 
 a scientific exhibition, and has seldom suffered from 
 such a thing. It may indeed happen that mistakes 
 have been made, and a grain of truth may have led 
 to the acceptance of a cartload of error ; yet the 
 mistake has inevitably been discovered sooner or later, 
 and so shall it be in the present case. If the exhibition 
 of truth herein contained is correct, then let us hope 
 that truth shall be the gainer ; but if not correct, then 
 let there be a full discussion and ventilation of the 
 cubject. The formula ever on the lips of such per- 
 sons is this — viz., preach the Word, as if, forsooth, 
 
lo THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 Christ cannot be preached in any way but that which 
 approves itself to their minds. This is often mistaken 
 for true Christian humility ; but there is a humility 
 which has the marks of a disdainful pride ; and of all 
 the offensive forms in which pride can appear, that is 
 the worst which encases itself in a narrow dogmatism. 
 Blinders may indeed keep unusual objects from scar- 
 ing nervous persons, but they are not well adapted 
 for streno-thenin<x the sio-ht. 
 
 But the very thing so much depreciated by many, 
 has helped to preserve intact the doctrines of Christ, 
 and has cleared them time after time from the mists 
 which threatened to settle down upon them. AVho, 
 for example, needs to be told that this has pre- 
 eminently been the case with the doctrine of Christ's 
 person, which for generations formed the subject of 
 debate ? The doctrine is now seen to rest on a sure 
 foundation, and is more clearly apprehended than it 
 otherwise could have been; and the same thing holds 
 good in the case of other great doctrines that have 
 been discussed. 
 
 Assaults, moreover, are made on the very founda- 
 tions on which a scientific exhibition alone can rest, 
 and as a matter of course the defence must in some 
 measure be guided by the mode of attack. When a 
 country is in danger of being invaded and overrun by 
 the foe, men do not cry Peace, peace ; they do not go 
 on cultivating their fields and enriching the country ; 
 they, in preference, burn all before them, however 
 pungent their pangs of regret. Now, so is it here ; 
 we must go out to meet the enemy : there is nothing 
 
INTR on UCTION. 1 1 
 
 gained by concealing tlie fact from oiu'sclves tliat 
 there is an enemy, but everything to be lost by so 
 doino-. Let us then take what vantao^e-oxound we 
 may, not indeed so much concerned about victory as 
 about truth, yet, persuaded that ours is the cause of 
 truth, let us do what we can to strengthen it. More- 
 over, it is well that men should know that Christianit}'^ 
 is capable of being scientifically defended. There are 
 many, not thoughtless persons, who strangely enough 
 take their views of religion from others, and think 
 that it cannot be defended in the manner indicated. 
 We may be astonished why men should do so, but 
 there are many things not readily accounted for ; 
 hence it is our duty to show such men, if possible, 
 that they are in error, and in this way lead them to 
 a healthful profession of faith, or leave them without 
 excuse in holding by their second-hand and false views 
 of Christianity. 
 
 Among those who in one way or another aim at 
 presenting a scientific explanation or exhibition of 
 spiritual life there are many differences — varieties, we 
 would say, but bound together by some differentia 
 which constitutes them species, separate and distinct. 
 The first method we would refer to is that adopted 
 by the entire schc-ol spoken of as evolutionists. At 
 the head of this school, in England at least, stand 
 Darwin, Huxley, Tyndall, Spencer, and a host of 
 lesser stars — men who in some way happen to domi- 
 nate the British Association and a portion of the 
 London press. They constitute what Principal 
 M'Cosh rather facetiously has designated a branch of 
 
12 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 tliat hackneyed club known all over tlie world as 
 the Mutual Admiration Society, inasmuch as they 
 are never weary in quoting each other as infallible 
 authorities. These authorities may not all be satis- 
 fied at beino; reo;arded as advancintr a scientific basis 
 on which to exhibit Sj)iritual life, but, with all the 
 nescience of their theories anent spiritual things, this 
 is precisely what they are doing. 
 
 It is not affirmed that these scientists present such 
 a basis as a Christian can adopt ; on the contrary, 
 grant their assumptions, and the whole superstructure 
 of Christianity falls to the ground. But for all that, 
 these men, one and all, affirm the existence of religious 
 feelings, though they are much exercised over their 
 explanation. AVith one consent, hoAvever, they rele- 
 c;ate them into the reoion of the dark unknown and 
 unknowable. According to Tyndall, physical science 
 cannot explain them, but yet physical science, as being 
 the most enlightened guide, is entitled to the direction 
 of these feelings. But as confessedly physical science 
 does not lead np to God, then, nnless our religious 
 feelings do not lead to God, science must wrongly 
 direct them. If these aspirations do lead upwards, 
 common sense surely tells ns that they should be 
 nnder no such dominion as the Professor indicates. 
 The truth is, relio-ious feclintr is a centre of force 
 which Dr. Tyndall does not well know how to manage, 
 and he does the best he can in setting a physical- 
 science conscience over it. J. S. jMill in his essay on 
 " The Utility of Eeligion" ascribes the great power 
 which religious feelinir seems to exert to the force of 
 
INTRODUCTION. 13 
 
 education, and his impression seems to have been at 
 that time — though he appears to have changed his 
 mind afterwards — that the worhl would have got on 
 rather better without religion than with it. The feel- 
 ings themselves, like everything else, he would resolve 
 by his universal power — inseparable association. 
 
 In general the disciples of this school are more 
 reticent, not indeed that they want the courage of 
 their opinions, but they seldom come to speak directly 
 on this point, though they clearly indicate the current 
 of their thouo-hts. Huxlev is cautious when in his 
 review of Comptism he says — in reply to the ques- 
 tion, " Does human nature possess any free, volitional, 
 or truly anthropomorphic element, or is it only the 
 cunnino;est of all nature's clocks ? — Some, amonof 
 whom I count myself, think that the battle will for 
 ever remain a drawn one, and that for all 23ractical 
 pur230ses this result is as good as anthropomorphism 
 winning the day." '" 
 
 Mr. Spencer resolves, as is well known, all our 
 necessary beliefs in a way which he and some others 
 regard as more satisfactory than Mr. Mill's law of 
 inseparable association, which, by the way, is no 
 longer felt to be tenable. Mr. Spencer adds heredi- 
 tary experience to the experience of the individual ; 
 in short, these necessary beliefs have been in process 
 of formation since man was a monad. This author 
 generously allocates the entire domain of the unknown 
 and unknowable to the relio-ious element in man : if 
 it confines itself to this he will not meddle with it, 
 
 * Lay Sermons, &c., p. 164. 
 
14 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 and ill tliat region it niav find sometliinof to feed 
 upon. But, as M'Cosli j)ertinently asks, " Avhy does 
 lie exclude a necessary belief in the existence of tbe 
 unknown and unknowable, or absolute and uncon- 
 ditioned," from the sweep of the law aforesaid ? 
 may such a belief not be generated by the race 
 ever coraino: to the knowleds^e of somethino- hitherto 
 unknown ? Let us listen to a few sentences of this 
 bleak and barren synthetic philosophy : " It must 
 be remembered that while the connection between the 
 2)henomenal order and the ontological is for ever 
 inscrutable, so is the connection between the con- 
 ditioned form of beino; and the unconditioned form 
 of being for ever inscrutable. The interpretation of 
 all phenomena in terms of Matter, Motion, and Force 
 is nothing more than the reduction of our complete 
 symbols of thought to the simplest symbols ; and 
 Avlien the equation has been brought down to its 
 lowest terms, the symbols remain symbols still ; 
 hence the reasonino^s contained in the foreiroino- 
 pages afford no support to either of the antagonistic 
 hypotheses respecting the ultimate nature of things. 
 "Jlieir implications are no more materialistic than they 
 are spiritualistic. Any argument which is aj^parently 
 furnished to either hypothesis is neutralised by as 
 good an argument furnislied to the other. . . . 
 He " (the man who understands his book) " will see 
 that though the relation of subject and object renders 
 necessary to us these antithetical conceptions of 
 spirit and matter, the one is no less than the other 
 to be regarded as but a sign of the unknown reality 
 
INTR OD UCTION. 1 5 
 
 wliicli underlies botli." * This is Mr. Spencer at 
 best, but alas ! lie rides away from us on a nebulous 
 cloud, know-nothingness, into a region whither we 
 are unable to follow him, no' being assured that it 
 has any existence at all. 
 
 The method, then, adopted by this school may be 
 called hypothetical, and it resolves itself into this — 
 viz., within the domain of the knowable there is no 
 evidence for the existence of a God — in point of fact, 
 there is no God ; but if beyond that sphere there is 
 anything, which is unknown and unknowable, that 
 may be God, and the religious element of our beiiig, 
 on the principle of sufficient reason, may be allowed 
 to connect us in some mysterious way with this 
 unconditioned unknowable Beino;. This is wanted 
 only because it is impossible meanwhile to find any 
 other more tangible place for such feelings. 
 
 It may fairly be questioned how long this fai;it 
 recognition of a Supreme Power will hold its own 
 among an English-speaking jiopulation who may be 
 led to entertain it. A basis of reliixious life such as 
 this will not long be respected by a fearlessly logical 
 mind, and the feelings themselves, along with their 
 basis, must soon come to grief. A God unknown and 
 unknowable, who neither hears nor heeds our cries, is 
 for all practical purposes no God, and a later genera- 
 tion will soon find this out. There is small chance 
 of the rising race of thinkers in this school respect- 
 ino- such a flimsv barrier raised between them and 
 Atheism. They will rather imitate the more consis- 
 
 * Biology, i. 491, 492. 
 
1 6 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 tent Germans, wlio even now look upon all sucli 
 tilings as slieer sentiment and want of courage. May 
 tlie God of lieaven defend us from sucli a consumma- 
 tion ! 
 
 Indeed, if Dr. Tyndall is to be regarded as tlie 
 interpreter of liis school, there is obviously a move- 
 ment in the camp of the Materialists — they are finding 
 their ground insecure and are abandonino: their stronsf- 
 holds of a pure Materialism. In his preface to his 
 last edition of his " Fragments of Science," he says 
 that by matter he does not mean mere atoms and 
 motion and force, but a certain something which can 
 and does produce all the phenomena of the world — 
 the basis of all phenomena or all potentiality — a for- 
 mative force. 
 
 We may well ask of him. What is this certain 
 something^ — this basis of phenomena — this formative 
 force ? and until he gives an intelligiljle definition, 
 a definite idea of his meaning, we must hold him as 
 falling back upon pantheism or advancing to spirit- 
 ualism. This he makes the more ajDparent by his 
 concession that he cannot conceive of how life can be 
 develoj^ed from the lifeless, or how consciousness can 
 1)0 evolved out of j)hysical organisation. 
 
 We have shown in chapter xiii. that matter can- 
 not be the basis of all phenomena. In that chapter 
 it will be seen that the recognised proportions of 
 matter can by no effort of reason or flight of imagi- 
 nation be predicated of mind or spirit. The attributes 
 of spirit are there shown to be the very reverse of 
 the properties of matter. The Professor's notion of 
 
INTRODUCTION. 17 
 
 matter is too vague and general, as also his idea of 
 it as a formative force, to be of any scientific value. 
 Force is formative in its crystallising and vital power, 
 but is it nothing more in its mental and spiritual 
 operations ? 
 
 Formative force in its crystallising operations is 
 doubtless a develo^Ding or evolving power, but is it 
 such jyer se ? In its vitalising operations it is a select- 
 ing power ; in its rational oj^erations it is an outgoing 
 power ; and formative force in its S|)iritual operations 
 is a combining, reflecting, self-approving, or self- 
 condemning, an advising or dreading power. 
 
 What kind of consciousness may be in a plant we 
 cannot imagine, but we know that consciousness in 
 man is the most vivid realitv of his existence. When 
 we enter this region of human experience we cannot 
 escape its clear and definite teaching ; and thus we 
 are not surprised that the Professor, leaving for a 
 moment his material speculations, and entering into 
 the realisations of his inner life, should come out with 
 the declaration that in the phenomena of conscious- 
 ness we find the rock on which materialism must 
 inevitably split when it pretends to be a complete 
 philosophy of the human mind. 
 
 No complete philosophy of human life can overlook 
 the phenomena of consciousness, and no comprehensive 
 science can refuse to investio;ate the character of such 
 phenomena ; and the scientific investigator of such 
 will find no difficulty in perceiving that the 
 phenomena of consciousness can never be unquestion- 
 ably regarded as the phenomena of mere formative 
 
 B 
 
i8 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 force. In volition, conscience, self-approbation, self- 
 condemnation, adoration or dread, are tlie operations 
 "of mere formative force; a minute analysis of these, 
 not to speak of others, will unmistakably show that 
 there certainly are in man what can never be regarded 
 as the phenomena of mere formative force. 
 
 It is time, however, to draw attention to the other 
 method of dealing with this great subject. This 
 which we may call the Christological method is 
 spiritual in the highest degree ; it enters into no 
 complicated and dark reasoning anent the essential 
 nature of substance, nor does it concern itself about 
 metaphysical subtleties regarding the unknown and 
 unknowable. Strangely enough, it is those who raise, 
 and would perplex themselves and us with such 
 questions, that accuse religionists of dealing in 
 subtleties ; but surely the religion of Jesus comes 
 to us like springs in the desert after the sterility and 
 death of cosmism as evolutionists call their system ; 
 but a cosmism in which the soul, weary with the 
 burden of sin, and seeking rest, can see neither order 
 nor beauty. This method postulates a personal God 
 as one of its most fundamental ideas, indeed as tlie 
 fundamental idea — a God who is not only distinct from 
 nature but above nature^its Creator and Preserver. 
 This method of which we approve rej^udiates alike 
 2)antheism, atheism, and all such bastard ideas as 
 represent God as an unknown something, if we may 
 even use the term something to what is indefinitely 
 near to nothing. It further encourages us to look up 
 and say, " Our Father v»dio art in heaven." In this 
 
INTR on UCTION. 1 9 
 
 method a place is found for all bygone aspirations 
 after God, and a good reason is assigned for them. 
 These have all along been what we should have 
 expected from those who have been made in the 
 image of God, bnt have left their first estate, and 
 no longer enjoy the good after which their spirits 
 yearn. 
 
 In all ao-es and conditions of his beino; man has 
 been striving after the realisation of the Divine 
 impressed on him at first, and nothing short of a 
 Godlike life can satisfy the craving which he feels. 
 Explain it as we may, man is restless, ever striving 
 after what is bej^ond, forgetting what is behind ; in 
 his best moods he is ever reaching forward to what 
 lies before him, and every step gained is but the 
 precursor to a further attempt. In this sense we 
 recognise a glorious evolution, a development which 
 is ever going forward, not from the pressure of 
 environment but from the j^ower that dwells within. 
 Here there is no transmutation of species, but a per- 
 fecting of the species in a higher life, the spirit of 
 God becoming the spirit of man's spirit. 
 
 Mere man-life is evidently imperfect, — the highest 
 forms of it with which we are acquainted were 
 anything but satisfied with themselves. Even our 
 progenitors, when they had all that in their circum- 
 stances they could reasonably need, are represented as 
 not satisfied with themselves or the position in which 
 they were placed, and so in striving to rise above it, 
 they fell far below even the possibilities of man-life. 
 And thus has it happened in the case of all the efforts 
 
20 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIIE. 
 
 put fortli by meu for tlie furtlieriiig of their spiritual 
 interests. The smoke of countless victims that 
 ascended from ten thousand altars, the penances, 
 the indefinite, perhaps indefinable, longings of 
 heathenism all indicate disquietude and discontent 
 with the life man was living, and his desire to escape at 
 least into another state which they imagined to be 
 better ; but their attempts ever ended in miserable 
 failure ; they ofttimes made bad worse, and were 
 never able to free those who made them from their 
 entanglements. 
 
 When we examine these attempts in a sympa- 
 thising spirit, realising that those who made them 
 were men like ourselves, that they felt the sorrows 
 of life as we do, and were walled in on either hand 
 by the thick impenetrable darkness which hung 
 around them, without a glimpse of the light and 
 immortality which are our inheritance, we feel a 
 sinking of heart ; in their own way they Avere groping 
 about for God, like as blind men grope for the wall, 
 and yet they could not attain to Him, though He was 
 not far from them. Our deepest interest is con- 
 centrated on these men ; when we thus regard them 
 they are brought near to our hearts ; whereas, 
 looked at as they too often are, they are separated 
 from us by the entire diameter of feeling. AVhen, 
 however, we do them justice and bring them near to 
 us, and as far as possible try to put ourselves in 
 their position, we get a glimpse of where and how far 
 they went astray. 
 
 Change, restless change, was the motto inscribed on 
 
INTRODUCTION. 21 
 
 their inner life, hope in pursuit of some mirage 
 alternating with despair when it was found that 
 their hopes were not to be realised. In earlier stages 
 monotheism was tried, but soon degenerated into 
 polytheism, Avith occasional outbursts of atheism ; 
 but the result was ever the same — Avild unrest and 
 feverish anxiety for fresh change, that they 
 might secure the good they did not feel, but which 
 they rightly enough judged to exist ; and in their 
 strivings, strange to say, they lighted upon many 
 deep spiritual truths. But why should we say that 
 this is strange, when Ave reflect that their nature Avas 
 spiritual, and CA^er striving after the realisation of 
 these very truths ? In confirmation of this, look, for 
 example, at Buddhism, a system effete and material- 
 istic to its very core. A competent authority says : 
 " Buddhism has no God, it has not CA^en the con- 
 fused and A\ague notion of a universal spirit, in AA'hich 
 the human soul, according to the orthodox doctrine 
 of Brahmanism and the Sanklya philosophy, may be 
 absorbed. ... It confounds man with all that 
 surrounds him, all the while preaching to him the 
 laws of virtue. Buddhism, therefore, cannot unite 
 the human soul, Avhich it does not CA^en mention, Avith 
 a God AA'hom it ignores, nor Avith Nature, which it 
 does not knoAV better." '" This matter is painfully 
 brought before us by Max Miiller, when he somcAvhat 
 mournfully and truly says : " In no religion are Ave 
 so constantly reminded of our OAvn as in Budd- 
 liism, and yet in no religion has man been drawn 
 
 * M. Barthelemy Saint-Helaire, quoted by Miiller, vol. ccliv. chap. i. 
 
22 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 away so far from tlie truth as iii tlic religion of 
 Bucldlia. Buddhism and Christianity are indeed the 
 two opposite poles with regard to the most essential 
 points of religion — Buddhism ignoring all feeling 
 of dependence on a higher power, and, therefore, 
 denying the very existence of a Supreme Deity ; 
 Christianity resting entirely on a belief in God as the 
 Father, in the Son of man as the Son of God, and 
 making us all children of God by faith in His Son. 
 Yet between the language of Buddha and his disciples, 
 and the language of Christ and His apostles, there 
 are strano-e coincidences. Even some of the Buddhist 
 legends and parables sound as if taken from the 
 New Testament, though we know that many of 
 them existed before the beoinninsc of the Christian 
 era."^' 
 
 From all this we may learn how imperative even 
 truth itself is, when not applied to the sinful heart 
 by the agency which has been provided by God, to 
 apply the benefits of Christ's redem^^tion to the souls 
 of believers. 
 
 We see here where these io-iiorers of God turned 
 
 o 
 
 aside into a wrong path, for, first, as mighty waters 
 let loose spread desolation far and wide over fertile 
 fields, but gathered together into a fitting channel 
 carry fertilising influences along with them, as they 
 descend to furnish a way for trade and commerce, 
 and the necessities of civilisation and advancement ; 
 so the religious element in man when ill directed 
 is a source of woe, but confined to its proper bed is 
 
 * Science of Religion, pp. 242, 243. 
 
INTR on UCTION. 23 
 
 the source of the greatest bliss that man can 
 experience on the earth. 
 
 Tlie Christian doctrine — a doctrine shadowed fortli 
 under the Mosaic dispensation — is this, viz., that man 
 escapes from his felt imperfection Ijy an exaltation 
 of human nature, and that this exaltation is realised 
 in union and communion with a nature higher than 
 his own. In this exaltation human nature remains 
 unmodified, it is still the same, just as gold is still 
 gold after it has been subjected to a purifying process. 
 It is w^ell known how companionships affect men, 
 raising or deteriorating them, and what happens thus 
 daily before our eyes, takes place in a higher sphere 
 when the companionship of God is realised in the 
 soul. In this case, there is no more than in the 
 former any confounding of the persons or lives. The 
 soul does not become the dead conduit, but is the 
 living, loving exponent of the Divine, and finds the 
 virtue of its very constitution, its highest perfection, 
 in union and communion with God. 
 
 In the foregoing we may find something which 
 goes a little way, perhaps, to explain that monstrosity 
 called pantheism. Pantheism, we opine, is little else 
 than the shadow cast by the deep indefinable feeling, 
 that man is only perfect in God. ]\[en may begin 
 by reasoning about the absolute and unconditioned, 
 and land in pantheism ; but it cannot be their 
 reasonings about matters which, from their very 
 nature, are confessedly unknown, that land them in 
 such conclusions. There cannot be any real connec- 
 tion between premises and conclusions, and we are 
 
24 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 perforce driven to find tlie true explanation in some- 
 tliing more tangible. Man cannot stand apart from 
 God ; tlie feebleness of bis spirit shows itself in bis 
 very yearning after sometbing on wbicb be may rest 
 and call God. Pantheism is a weak, mad plunge 
 into tbis as soon as a man bas found it ; it is 
 fundamentally a sickly cast of tbougbt. True religion 
 is more manly ; it bolds by individuality, not in 
 O2:»position to tlie God wbicb it finds, but because it 
 feels tbat tbere can be no contradiction between its 
 dependence on God and God's good pleasure, tbat it 
 should always be distinct from Himself. 
 
 Tbere is, perhaps, no religious error which has not 
 some true point of departure ; and because it is so, men 
 are aj^t to become increasingly perplexed when, from 
 any cause, they are unwilling to apj^roach the subject 
 of religion with a spirit of deep reverence. Self- 
 satisfaction is a blinding power in any case, but 
 most of all in reliofious search. The self-sufficient 
 man need not begin the study of the religious 
 problems of his life, bis self-conceit is like a bandage 
 of many folds bound over bis eyes — he can only in 
 such a case furnish another illustration of the fiict, 
 tbat not many wise men after the flesh are chosen as 
 interpreters of God's ways ; with men it is only the 
 man who will do His will that can know of the 
 doctrine whether it be of God. 
 
 In Christianity, the exaltation of which we. have 
 spoken as the door of escape from man's unrest, 
 it is union and communion with God, through 
 union and communion with one who is at once 
 
INTR on UCTION. 2 5 
 
 God and man. The great object of the Gospel of 
 Christ Jcsiis is to set forth such truths as shall 
 throw light xv^qvl the condition of humanity. It 
 homologates its aspirations, it explains the mysteries 
 which ever haunt man's weary footsteps, and in the 
 scheme of redemption it opens up a Avay of escape to 
 the embrace of a loving Father, at whose right hand 
 there are pleasures for evermore. And it leaves us 
 standing, fondly, desiringly, looking into the vista 
 of the future, in the full persuasion that by and by 
 there shall arise out of the ashes of a purified world a 
 lovelier paradise than that from which our progenitors 
 were driven. 
 
 " There happier bowers than Eden's bloom, 
 Nor sin, nor sorrow Ivuow ; 
 Blest seats, through rude and stormy scenes, 
 I omvard press to you." 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 MAN A RELIGIOUS BEING, IN AN IRRELIGIOUS EFFORT 
 AND HAPLESS CONDITION. 
 
 It is now generally conceded that man is a religions 
 being. The import of the religious clement, the 
 direction in which it points, and as a consequence, 
 the nature of the obligation under which it lays us, 
 are constantly giving rise to its discussion. But of 
 the fact itself, that man is a religious being, no 
 serious difficulty of opinion now exists among 
 reflectinG: men. 
 
 Among devoutly religious men, the most profound 
 and accurate thinkers believe, and have tried to 
 establish the fact, that man is a religious being, 
 because he is j)Ossessed of a God-conscious faculty, 
 the direct function of which is to gaze upon God ; 
 and therefore they conclude that he is religious just 
 as he is a social or a sentient being. 
 
 It is, however, no less clear that there is a conflict 
 in human nature — a struggle between what are 
 regarded as the higher and lower powers and 
 capacities of man's being ; — in other words, man 
 possesses a religious nature which is involved in an 
 irreligious strife ; and this condition of things we 
 
MAN A RELIGIOUS BEING. 27 
 
 believe goes far to explain many of the varied and 
 perplexing phenomena of man's life. 
 
 Man everywhere, and in all ages, has had an impres- 
 sion of a Power above him, and of his standing to that 
 Power in a relation of responsibility. This impression, 
 it is true, in certain individuals may be so faint as 
 hardly to be discernible to the individual himself, or to 
 the student of man's nature, however keen his search, 
 yet will it ever be found that time and the requisite 
 circumstances are capable of unfolding it to the full 
 consciousness of all concerned. 
 
 Man is not only aware of a sense of obligation to 
 the Power above him, he is made to realise that this 
 sense of obligation is the deepest and most endur- 
 ing consciousness of his life. In the felt presence 
 of this Power, he can be satisfied with himself only 
 in as fiir as he is able to persuade himself that his 
 deeds are in accordance with the will of that 
 Power, and his life acceptable to it. Every man 
 knows, that although the religious impressions 
 and convictions of his mind are not at all times 
 in the most effective condition, they are the most 
 powerful and enduring of his nature ; for should 
 he in the moment of temptation disregard the 
 authority of his conscience, and do Avhat he feels 
 he ought not to do, yet will conscience reassert her 
 authority, dash the cup of pleasure from his lips, and 
 make him feel humiliated in the consciousness of 
 havino^ done what he felt he oug^ht not to have done. 
 And although some men may become so brutalised 
 as utterly to disregard conscience, they do not 
 
28 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 tlioreby extiipate it from tlieir nature, tliey only 
 a,d(.l to its condemning power, when at length, like 
 a subterranean fire, it upheaves the heavy load 
 under which, intentionally or unintentionally, they 
 have buried it. 
 
 This sense of obligation to the Divine is not only 
 the deepest and most enduring consciousness of man's 
 life ; but, side by side with it, the yearning after God 
 in the spirit of man is the first and most indestructiljle 
 craving of his soul. The necessity for the indwelling 
 of God in the spirit of man, is the most urgent and 
 irrepressible requirement of his well-being. Man 
 apart from God cannot but feel that he is unable 
 to meet the underlying necessity of his nature ; for 
 should he, in the pursuit of his own ends, attain to 
 all that his heart can desire of earth's possessions, 
 still, if his religious cravings be not met, these 
 cravings cause him to realise that he possesses not 
 all that he needs. A religious nature can rest only 
 in a religious life, and capacity for the indwelling of 
 the Divine necessitates the presence, of God in 
 the soul in order to its permanent enjoyment. The 
 void spirit of man can no more repose in the desertion 
 of God, than can the feeling of thirst be satisfied 
 without water ; and as soon may the body burning 
 with fever enjoy the harmony and comfort of health, 
 as the spirit of man while animated by the diabolic 
 enjoy repose. 
 
 And when once the idea of religion takes possession 
 of the mind of a man, that man cannot let the subject 
 of religion alone, — he must either place himself in 
 
MAN A RELIGIOUS BEING. "29 
 
 opposition to all religion, or struggle to satisfy liim- 
 self with some of the false forms of religion that 
 exist, or he must find his satisfaction from repose 
 in the true, 
 
 Man is thus a religious being, possessed of a 
 religious nature, yearning after a higher condition of 
 a religious life, and striving to attain to the end of 
 his existence, in putting forth an effort to unite 
 himself with the Infinite and Eternal. Man is 
 capable of the indwelling of the Divine, he is gifted 
 with powers susceptible of entering into fellowship 
 with God, he is capable of religious impressions, he is 
 the subject of religious aspirations and desires. He 
 readily engages in religious efforts, and ever worships 
 what he conceives to be the proper object of admira- 
 tion. He has longings which can be met only in 
 God. He realises the perfection of his life in a true 
 likeness to God, and he can rest satisfied only when 
 God dwells in his heart. 
 
 While this is true, as already indicated, man is at 
 the same time a relio^ious beinir in a fallen condition 
 of life. The God-conscious faculty of his spirit is 
 insensible, like the organ of breathiug in the foetus, 
 it has no action until he is " born ao;ain." In his 
 unreofenerate state man has no immediate vision of 
 God, no fellowship with his Father in heaven. He 
 is averse to God, and strives to live without Him 
 in the world. 
 
 Man's impression of the Power above him, and 
 of his responsibility to that Power, docs not draw 
 him near in holy love and obedience to his Father, 
 
30 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 that he may receiv^e tlie supplies of tlie Divine 
 necessary to meet the wants of his nature, and to de- 
 velop the constitution of his being. This impression 
 of a Power above liim rather leads man to endeavour, 
 by means of sacrifice, penance, and supp)lication, to 
 propitiate that Power. This impression exists in 
 its truest condition while in its faintest form, for 
 Avhen it is unfolded in the human mind, irres2:)ective 
 of the light of revelation, it is developed in erroneous 
 conceptions of the human, and in false and perj^lexing 
 notions of the Divine. The experience of heathen- 
 ism, the degenerating tendency of idolatry in man, 
 the results of human speculation, the doctrines of the 
 different schools of philosophy, and the tenets of tlie 
 many sects in religion, exhibit the truth of this 
 statement. In fact, wherever this impression has 
 been unfolded in the human heart, apart from the 
 influence of the Spirit of God, it has always developed 
 itself in impious feelings towards God. The facts of 
 heathen sacrifice, the endeavour of man in all ages to 
 propitiate God, to alter His disposition, and change 
 His jmrpose towards sinners, sufticiently establishes 
 and illustrates the truth of this assertion. 
 
 The cherishino; of such desire in the human heart 
 shows that man has fallen from, and is striving to 
 live beneath, the conditions of his own wellbeing. 
 God, in His infinite wisdom and benevolence, could 
 never have created man to desire that God would be, 
 and do differently from what God Himself is and 
 does. Tliis would have been to have created man in 
 a condition of conflict with the principles and 
 
MAN A RELIGIOUS BEING. 31 
 
 oLligations of liis nature, tlie necessities of liis 
 spiritual life, and with the terms of his fellowship 
 with and enjoyment of God. Man, by cherishing the 
 desires of his natural heart, necessarily places himself 
 in opposition to God, and removes himself from Him, 
 acts in composition to the deep necessities and immut- 
 able condition of his own wellbeing ; and therefore 
 he cannot be at peace with God, nor act in harmony 
 with the requirements of his nature. 
 
 Human experience shows that man's sense of 
 obli2:ation is of no direct avail to him in his natural 
 state for the discharge of his duty. It affords him 
 no means of ascertaining]: what is riirht from what is 
 wrong. On this all-important point, men from the 
 beo-inninoj have differed. Man has no knowledofe of 
 right in the abstract, conscience can only approve 
 when he acts in accordance with, and condemns when 
 he wills in opposition to, his judgment. Hence one 
 community and one age has approved what another 
 has denied. Conscience, moreover, has not that 
 supremacy in man's life to which it is entitled, it is a 
 dethroned monarch ; when passion rises conscience does 
 not rule, but is suffered merely to warn or threaten. 
 When assailed with temptation man does not 
 immediately and unhesitatingly dismiss the temjDter, 
 but dallies with the temptation, and by so doing falls 
 before its power. In his spiritual and rational nature, 
 man acts more unworthily than does the brute creation. 
 The inclinations of the inferior animals are in the 
 direct line of the end of their existence, their instincts 
 at once propel them to what is necessary to their 
 
32 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 wellbeiiig. Similarly the instincts of man's animal 
 nature are true and urgent, but such is not the case 
 with man's rational discernment and spiritual biases. 
 In the spiritual of his being while in his natural 
 state, man has no spontaneous risings of filial affec- 
 tion to his Father in heaven, no vivid discernment 
 of the mind of God, no ardent and cherished desire 
 to comply with the obligations of duty, no longing 
 after any cherished delight in the consciousness of 
 the Divine. And why are the biases of man's soul 
 not Godward, unless it be that they are perverted ? 
 
 Man has thus no true knowledge of the immutable 
 principle of his wellbeing, viz., that the finite can never 
 meet the necessities, fill the capacities, and energise 
 the functions of his spirit — that nothing short of the 
 indwelling of God can quicken and sustain him in 
 his true life, that, secure what amount he may of the 
 finite without the indwelling of God, he can only 
 be the more restless and unhappy. In such circum- 
 stances, it is surely no great leap to conclude that 
 knowledge of his wellbeing, if this is to bo obtained, 
 can only be reached by man through revelation. A 
 holy being, without a direct perce23tion of the end of 
 his existence, and an intuitive knowledge of the 
 Divine, is something like a contradiction. Surely the 
 simplest and most satisfactory solution of the problem 
 is, that man is not now what he once was. 
 
 And what is the history of man's religious endea- 
 vours, but the narrative of irreligious deeds ? It 
 is the history of a religious being struggling after 
 the advantac^cs of a rclii2,ious life, while disinclined to 
 
MAN A RELIGIOUS BEING. 33 
 
 comply with the only conditions of religious obligation 
 and enjoyment. This is the true solution of the 
 varied and conflicting phenomena of life. On the 
 admission of man's fallen condition, the diflerent and 
 contradictory phases of human experience in man's 
 present state can be adequately accounted for and 
 satisfactorily explained. But on no other principle, 
 so far known to us, can the restless and conflicting 
 state of man on earth be cleared up. 
 
 Man, moreover, is not only a religious being in a 
 fallen condition, he is in a helpless state, unable to 
 rescue himself from the conflict of his ow^n nature. lu 
 order to the restoration of a fallen religious being, there 
 must be, as we shall afterwards see, a supernatural 
 manifestation of the Divine. Apart from the peculiar 
 grace of God, every manifestation of the Divine to the 
 fallen must, from the nature of the case, be wrathful, 
 and as such be provocative of opposition, and only 
 drive the fallen farther and farther away from God. 
 If man is to be drawn to God, the supernatural 
 manifestation given to him must be of love, of mer- 
 ciful purpose, and of quickening grace, such as shall 
 allure into the fellowship of the Divine. Such a 
 manifestation of God as this, as a matter of course, 
 must be given to man from without ; for of himself he 
 is utterly unable to ascend to such ideas of God, he can 
 neither work out from his own inner self nor discover 
 in creation a medium of delightful fellowship with his 
 Father in heaven. Do wdiat he will he cannot lay 
 hold on such a manifestation of love and grace as is 
 fitted to ravish his heart and bind him to the throne 
 
34 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 of the Eternal. Man cannot think of God as lie is. 
 To do so would be for the false and hating to pro- 
 duce the lovinof and true. Hence man cannot unveil 
 to himself God in mercy, nor produce such a vision of 
 the love of God as can bring him into fellowship with 
 his Father in heaven, and promote the ends of his 
 own existence. 
 
 Nor does this inability measure the helplessness of 
 man. He is not only unable to produce the gracious 
 of the Divine, he is averse to the holy and unwilling 
 to attach himself to the heavenly. In virtually desir- 
 ing, as man does, a change in the nature of God, he 
 must falsely apprehend God; and in striving to 
 elaborate an idea of God from materials supplied by 
 his own faculties alone, he is necessarily creating an 
 idol and foro;in2; for himself chains of darkness. The 
 first duty of man in regard to spiritual things is not 
 to search after truth, but to yield himself up to the 
 guidance of the true. Rationalism is the most 
 irrational attempt on the part of man ; it is, in fact, 
 the monstrous of human intellect. 
 
 Reason cannot approve of man's attempt to think 
 God, much less can it justify him in his desire that 
 God's nature were changed. Reason cannot allow 
 that the wellbeiug of man is compatible with false 
 desire in his heart, or with erroneous conceptions in 
 his mind reoardino; his relations with God. 
 
 How dark must be the mind that can entertain 
 the idea of effectinor a chano-e in God! And does 
 not the attempt on the part of man to propitiate 
 God clearly prove the existence of such a conccp- 
 
MAN A RELIGIOUS BEING. 35 
 
 tion and desire in man, and reveal the inner darkness 
 of the human mind regarding man's relations with 
 God ? Nay, the very effort on the part of man to 
 propitiate God discloses a deep consciousness in 
 liumanity of a difference between God and man. 
 And what can this difference be but an opposition 
 of entire life. The attempt to proj^itiate God also 
 implies the existence of a vague notion in man that 
 somehow he is able to rectify the disturbance 
 between himself and God — that it lies with man to 
 provide the medium of agreeable fellowship between 
 himself and God — that the change necessary to 
 agreeable fellowship is a change needed not in man 
 but in God ; and that man is more desirous than 
 God for the re-establishment of agreeable fellowship 
 between heaven and earth. Here is the acme of 
 human self-righteousness, of the errors which underlie 
 the relio;ious efforts of man. 
 
 Moreover, the cherishing of sucli desire on the part 
 of man shows that the direct manifestations of God 
 in and to man are offensive ; so much so, that instead 
 of satisfying they disquiet his spirit. The cherishing 
 of such desire surely shows that the manifestations 
 of God to man, through the operations of nature in 
 him, only intensify his consciousness of guilt, arouse 
 the enmity of his rebellious spirit, and increase the 
 conflict of his nature, and therefore are not and 
 cannot be a blessing to him. 
 
 And reason must see that man in cherishino; such 
 a desire, and in endeavouring to pro];)itiate God, can 
 only render his condition worse ; for such a desire 
 
36 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 and effort can only make liim more unlike God and 
 less sympathetic with Him, and in this way widen 
 the gulf already existing between them. 
 
 Yet man struggles, and that persistently, to bo 
 religious after his own conception. He does not 
 perceive that by such an effort he violates the first 
 principles of the finite and religious — viz., that the 
 finite must ever be dependent on the Infinite — in the 
 measure of the nearness of his nature to God, and 
 that the religious in man must feed itself only on the 
 manifestations of the Divine. He perceives not that 
 by his very effort to win the favour of God he denies 
 the fact of his fall, and of his helpless condition 
 before Him ; for how can he meet the Divine 
 approbation by desiring that God should be dif- 
 ferent from what He is, seeing that by so doing he 
 creates to himself an idol, and sins ae^ainst the 
 livino; God ? 
 
 The very effort of fallen man to commend himself 
 to God by his own doings is inconsistent with the 
 revelations of the fallen, and subversive of the funda- 
 mental principles of a gracious restoration. Grace 
 requires of fallen man that he become acceptable to 
 God not by doing but by believing. And herein 
 we perceive the direct opposition between the 
 religious attempts of men and the religion of God. 
 The religious after man's conception does not perceive 
 man's need of renewal through the cpiickening of 
 the Divine. Instead of carefully examining the 
 characteristics of his religion, to see if it be in entire 
 conformity with the necessary conditions of grace 
 
MAN A RELIGIOUS BEING. 37 
 
 to tlie fallen, lie is rather disposed to take credit 
 to himself for the excellence of that religion which 
 has sprung up from within, and has proceeded from 
 himself. He tests his religion not by the assimilation 
 of his life to the Divine, and by the consciousness 
 of the calm, deep, and ready power of j)rinciple which 
 enables him to overcome temptation, raises him 
 above fretfulness in reference to the seen and tem- 
 poral, and preserves him in the realised sense of the 
 Divine presence, not by this, but by the heat of his 
 emotional fervour, the zeal of his prejudice, and 
 the numerous deeds and burdensome character of 
 his services. 
 
 And yet, after all, is there not a something under- 
 lyiijg this desire in man that God's nature Avere 
 other than it is, that deserves the most thoualitful 
 study of man ? Is there not a something here which 
 foreshadows the brinoina: in of a better hone — a 
 something which shuts man up to the dictates of a 
 higher reason than his own, even to fliitli in a revela- 
 tion from God ? May there not be in this desire the 
 first motion of a craving after that which is necessary 
 to the restoration of spiritual life in man ? Is there 
 not in this desire a divine indication of the deep 
 requirements of man's condition, an echo in the 
 human soul of a higher voice than man's ? Doubt- 
 less there is here the response of man's inner being 
 to that voice which tells him that a change must be 
 effected ere he can delio-ht himself in God — a chanoe 
 in that very desire Avhich he so ardently cherishes. 
 And in order to the accomplishment of this change, 
 
38 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 there must needs be a cliange, not in tlie nature, but 
 in the manifestations of God to the sinner. 
 
 And can this change needed by man be any other 
 than a transition from the disturbed emotions innate 
 in the fallen, to a tranquil and joyous rej)Ose of the 
 soul in God, through means of a supernatural mani- 
 festation of the Divine ? If the desire in man for a 
 change in God proves that the manifestations of the 
 Divine in man, or the revelation of God to man 
 through the operations of nature in and around him, 
 are so offensive that he cannot through means of 
 them hold delightful fellowship with God, but must 
 long for other manifestations, can these other mani- 
 festations be through nature ? Must they not bo 
 such as, while acting upon man so as to harmonise 
 the operations of nature in him, be supernatural in 
 themselves ? 
 
 If this desire in man does not fur^iish him with 
 the evidence of a Divine voice speaking in him — 
 if it does not warrant him to expect a supernatural 
 manifestation of the Divine, it certainly should dis- 
 pose him to listen with attention to the announcement 
 of such a manifestation, and induce him to examine 
 with care the credentials of that which claims to come 
 to him as a revelation from God, which tells him that 
 God has given to man a manifestation of Himself 
 for the very purpose of effecting a change in him, and 
 thus rescuing him from the conflict in which he 
 groans and toils, but from which he labours in vain 
 to escape. Should not this desire incline man to 
 receive and readily obey this revelation, rather than 
 
MAN A RELIGIOUS BEING. 39 
 
 to endeavour to reduce its doctrines to the level of 
 liis selfisli dispositions and vain conceits ? 
 
 What a spectacle in the universe of God is man ! 
 a being created with capacities boundless and endur- 
 ing as the Eternal — endowed with a receptivity for 
 the indwelling of God — j^^ssessed of a nature suscep- 
 tible of rising to the loftiest condition of the finite, 
 and a heart that ever yearns with an indestructible 
 longing for the enjoyment of endless fellowship with 
 the Infinite, and yet understanding not the deep 
 cravings of his own immortal spirit, nor embracing 
 the fair opportunities within his reach of knowing 
 God and enterino; into rest. For what is the result 
 of all his labours under the sun ? They are only vanity 
 and vexation of spirit even at best. Instead of finding 
 God, excavating Him as it were from the womb of 
 nature or the depths of his own consciousness, he 
 only gives an ideal objective existence to his own 
 inner disturbed state of thought and feeling — a 
 phantom which, as he pursues it, leads him only 
 farther and farther into ever-deepening gloom, and 
 increases the unavailing conflict which already exists, 
 and awakens more keenly within him the feeling 
 of disquietude. 
 
( 40 ; 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 TRUTH IN ITS HIGHER MANIFESTATIONS. 
 
 What is trutli ? Truth is related to tliouc^lit — its 
 source and its expression. It is the harmony of 
 thought with its oliject, and the agreement of thought 
 with its expression— the agreement of the objective 
 and subjective. AVhen a witness is called to give 
 his evidence on a matter in dispute, he is required 
 solemnly to bind himself " to speak the truth, the 
 whole truth, and nothing but the truth" — i.e., to tell 
 all that he knows of the case in hand, and to tell 
 it exactly as he knows it. He is not to withhold 
 anything, or to colour any of his statements. He is 
 to embody his knowledge of the matter in such 
 language as will convey to the mind of judge and 
 jury an impression of the case the exact reflex of 
 his own. And if in making his statement he is 
 known intentionally to employ terms which cannot 
 but mislead, or which in their nature are fitted to 
 do so, he is held to be a false witness, or one who 
 has not spoken the truth. 
 
 Moreover, the testimony of a witness, while faith- 
 ful, may be inadequate to convey a correct conception 
 of the matter under investi2:ation. His observation 
 
7 RUTH IN ITS HIGHER MANIFESTATIONS. 41 
 
 may have been liurried, partial, or incomplete ; and 
 while he candidly declares all that he knows, his 
 declaration may be found insufficient to rej^resent 
 the matter in all its exactitude and fulness. Such 
 a witness has indeed spoken the truth ; but truth 
 in its widest sense implies not merely a faithful 
 utterance, but likewise a correct and complete 
 expression of the full acquaintance with the object 
 or subject matter of knowledge. Man seeks in his 
 knowledoe to embrace all beino; in all its relations 
 and conditions. Man has thoughts of himself and 
 of other beings, and his knowledge of external exist- 
 ence is not merely historic, but scientific and vital 
 — not simply an acc_[uaintance with the facts, but a 
 discernment of the laws and operations of being ; and 
 this knowledge is gained not merely by the percep- 
 tions of the mind, but also by the emotions of the 
 heart and the realisations of the spirit. Man has 
 a knowledge not only of physical nature, but of 
 personality, of the principles and realisations of life. 
 Thought is related to the outer of being and to the 
 inner of soul, and truth is the harmony or correctness 
 of this thought. To know truth in its entirety, 
 we must not only acquaint ourselves with the whole 
 of outer existence, but with the entire of inner being, 
 and realise the relations of the inner to the outer, 
 and of the outer to the inner of existence. 
 
 Truth is the medium of rational intercourse. Mind 
 cannot hold intercourse with mind but tlirou2;h the 
 medium of truth. If one mind in converse with 
 another does not employ nor receive truth, then 
 
42 TIIK SCIENCE OF SPIRIIUAL LIFE. 
 
 there is no communication between them. To the 
 extent that error is involved in the converse of mind, 
 to that extent the one mind is shut out from the 
 other. If Kfe docs not act truthfully — i.e., feed 
 on its own proper aliment, and act in harmony with 
 its constitution — it does not realise itself as it ouo-ht 
 
 O 
 
 to do, nor through the consciousness of life in itself 
 know what life is in another. If spirit does not 
 meet spirit in truthful embrace, there can be no pure 
 fellowship between spirits, no realised intercourse of 
 soul. The knowledge of spiritual truth, then, is not 
 mere intellectual perce^^tion of focts, laws, &c., of 
 being, but the spiritual realisation of existence 
 through the love of the Divine — conscious life in God. 
 Truth has been defined " the reality of things ; " it 
 would be more correct to call it the reality of being. 
 A knowledge of the objective, however correct and 
 complete, cannot afford an adequate acquaintance 
 with truth. To know truth we must know the sub- 
 jective as well as the objective, and realise life in its 
 relations to beinof. 
 
 We may set it down as an axiom, that if there be 
 a personal God at all. He can bear testimony as well 
 as man. The Infinite may express Himself as well 
 as the finite. Man utters his thoughts in words, 
 himself in life. If God utters his mind, we are to 
 expect He will do so adequately and truthfully — in 
 Word and Life. And for the adequate reception of 
 such a revelation, there must be a pure reception of 
 the Divine — a capacity for heariug the Word and a 
 capability of receiving the Life. 
 
TRUTH IN ITS HIGHER AI A NIFE STATIONS. 43 
 
 Truth is essentially clualistic. Mind must have 
 idea, and idea must have form. Thought is distinct 
 from the thinking substance, and yet they are 
 essentially connected. Thought can exist only in 
 mind, and mind, which is essentially active, can act 
 and realise itself only in thought. Mind must be 
 conscious of thouo;ht, but that thouirht is not the 
 mind itself. The subjective is necessary to the 
 objective, and the objective to the subjective. Mind 
 must express itself to itself, and mind can express 
 itself to itself only by the subjective passing into the 
 objective in consciousness. And the objective must 
 be the express image of the subjective. The sub- 
 jective of the Infinite Mind is the Divine conscious- 
 ness of God's being, purpose, and enjoyment. The 
 objective of the Infinite Mind is the Divine ideal, 
 that of which God is conscious ; and that of which 
 God is conscious is in perfect agreement with and 
 altogether worthy of the subjective Divine. 
 
 The ideal is the objective, the consciousness of the 
 emotional and volitional is the subjective, of mind. 
 The subjective may be in a harmonious or conflicting 
 state towards the objective, as in the consciousness of 
 guilt. In this state the affectional and volitional are 
 not and cannot be in accord with the ideal or objective. 
 If the subjective and objective are concordant, truth 
 is in the mind to the extent of its consciousness. If 
 they are in conflict, error is in the mind. If all 
 minds had the same ideal, then would there be no 
 difference in minds but that of individual personality. 
 In the Infinite Mind, while as yet nothing was 
 
44 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 created, the objective proceeded from the suLjective, 
 aud was derived from no foreign or external source. 
 In the finite mind the objective is derived from the 
 inner and outer — from intuition, observation, and 
 experience. 
 
 Truth is subjective and objective, and objective 
 and subjective. Mind is occupied with its ideal. 
 The ideal is the objective, and the consciousness of 
 the ideal is the subjective, of mind. The objective is 
 the offspring of the subjective ; the utterance of the 
 objective is the embodiment in sound, form, or 
 vitality of the subjective, and the perfect utterance 
 is the true manifestation of the subjective in the 
 objective. Truth is objective internal and external. 
 While the ideal of mind exists only in the conscious- 
 ness of mind, it is the internal objective of mind ; but 
 when it is expressed in its embodiment, it is the 
 objective external; and when it is embraced by other 
 minds in belief, it becomes the objective internal and 
 subjective of such mind, and the consciousness of it 
 brings the subjective of the mind embracing it into a 
 oneness with the mind from which it originally pro- 
 ceeded. Truth subjective and internal objective in 
 the Divine J\Iind is necessarily infinite ; but can truth 
 external objective to the Divine Mind be necessarily 
 infinite, must it not be necessarily finite ? The limi- 
 tations of truth are in the forms and not in the 
 essence of truth. If modern philosophic speculation 
 would keep this fact in view, there would be less talk 
 than there is of creation proving only the existence 
 of an imperfect God. 
 
TRUTH IN ITS HIGHER MANIFESTATIONS. 45 
 
 Truth in God, or tlie objective internal and sub- 
 jective of the Infinite Mind, is necessarily true — i.e., 
 the objective is the exact counterpart of the subjective, 
 and the objective is the full measure or complete 
 realisation of the infinitude of perfect being. But 
 from this it docs not follow that truth in the finite, 
 while adequate to the exigencies of finite wellbeing, 
 is necessarily infinite ; and out of this then arises the 
 possibility of a false objective and an erroneous sub- 
 jective in the finite. It was therefore not without 
 reason that some of the early fathers in the Church 
 argued that there was necessarily the outgoing of the 
 subjective into the objective Divine — the passing of 
 the Infinite Mind into the consciousness of Itself in 
 the generation of the Logos ; and in this there was 
 an entire satisfaction of the Infinite Heart with the 
 Brightness of His own glory. God had a knowledge 
 of His own Being, a consciousness of Himself, and 
 this subjective Divine expressed Itself to Itself in the 
 eternal generation of this Image of Itself. This 
 objective of the subjective Divine could be expressed 
 only in an eternal infinite Divine objective, an 
 objective which was one with God. "In the 
 beoinnino- was the Loo-os, and the Loc^os was with 
 God, and the Logos was God." 
 
 Truth is the external objective of the Infinite when 
 it is the exact impress of the Divine ideal in the 
 creation of the finite, the utterance of the Infinite 
 concept in a sphere of being beyond the consciousness 
 of God, the outgoing of the internal objective and 
 subjective Infinite into the external objective and 
 
46 THE SCIENCE OE SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 subjective finite. " And God said, Let us make man 
 in our own imao;e, after our likeness," " So God 
 created man in His own imaire : in the imaize of God 
 created He liim ; male and female created He them." 
 " And God breathed into his nostrils the breath of 
 life ; and man became a living soul." 
 
 Truth in its totality is the infinite of the Divine, 
 the concept of the Infinite Mind, the consciousness of 
 that concept, the manifestation of that concept, the 
 ap23reliension of that concept, the realisation of that 
 concept, the fellow\slii23 of that concept. Truth 
 is the infinite in the Infinite, the Infinite in the 
 finite, the finite in the Infinite. Truth is the descent 
 of the Infinite into the finite, and the ascent of the 
 finite into a oneness with the Infinite — the fellowship 
 of the Divine with the human, and of the human 
 with the Divine and with the human. From the 
 nnbeginning ages of eternity there w^as in the Infinite 
 Mind an ideal of the universe, a model concept 
 of the contemplated workmanship of God. This 
 model concept is the objective in the subjective, the 
 ideal in the Infinite Mind. In this concejit the ob- 
 jective and the subjective were one — the idea with the 
 consciousness of it. There Avas a oneness or perfect 
 iiojreemcnt between them. There was no discord, 
 opposition, or unlikeness between them. The con- 
 cept was perfect and complete, all w^orthy of God. 
 And wdien the Divine fiat in the act of creation gave 
 substantive existence to the ideal objective of the 
 Infinite Mind, the universe of material, intellectual, 
 and spiritual being was the reflex of the Divine 
 
TRUTH IN ITS HIGHER MANIFESTATIONS. 47 
 
 objective, the written transcript of tlie Divine ideal. 
 In the act of creation, God, having as it were in 
 space the picture of His own ideal, gave beyond the 
 region of His own consciousness substantive existence 
 to His own objective concept, and displayed in the 
 mirror of the external the imasfe of His own internal. 
 Divine wisdom, power, and goodness were adequate 
 to the production in external substantive existence of 
 the objective or ideal concept of the Infinite Mind. 
 Had it not been so, the Infinite must for ever have 
 continued within Himself all being — the objective in 
 the subjective, the finite in the Infinite ; no objective 
 could have ever existed beyond the region of the 
 Divine consciousness ; creation never could, have 
 been, for God could never have given forth imperfec- 
 tion. This of course does not mean metajDhysical 
 imperfection. And Divine wisdom, power, and 
 goodness were not only adequate to the production 
 of a creation bej^ond the region of the Divine 
 consciousness, but were equal to the production of 
 this creation every way worthy of the exact counter- 
 part of the model concept of the Divine Mind. The 
 Almighty could have made it nothing else ; for if 
 it was not the exact transcript of the Divine, then 
 did God not rej^rodiice His own idea, but took the 
 model of His creation from some other than His own 
 ideal. If creation, as fresh from the Almighty hand, 
 had not been the exact transcript of the model con- 
 cept of the Divine ]\Iind, then there must have been 
 imperfection in the workmanship of God. Creation 
 could never have met the intention of the Almighty, 
 
4S THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 God never could have surveyed His entire creation 
 with satisfaction and pronounced it very good. But 
 creation did reflect the model concept of the Divine 
 Mind. God did survey it with His entire satisfaction 
 and pronounced it very good. It was all that He 
 desired it to be. It had a beino; as well as a be- 
 ginning in perfect accordance with His design. 
 There it hung in the presence-chamber of Jehovah 
 the unique sketch of the Divine Artist, the perfect 
 embodiment of the Divine purjDOse ; there it lay 
 traced on the parchment of space, in its substance 
 and realisation the exact impress of the Divine in- 
 tention, the perfect copy of the model concept of the 
 Infinite and Eternal Mind — the fit transcript of the 
 objective, the suitable outbreathing of the subjective, 
 Divine. As the impression thrown from the stereo- 
 type plate answers to the page printed from the 
 original fount, so did creation correspond with the 
 ideal of God. The culmination or higli perfection of 
 this creation was immortal mind — spirit in the image 
 of God — beings essentially active, capable of regulating 
 their actions, of understanding their relations, and 
 conscious of the high conditions of their wellbeing. 
 The last stroke of creative skill and benignity was 
 the gathering up into one bright image of God the 
 scattered rays of His glory sparkling in the prior out- 
 goings of the Divine, and breathing out from Himself 
 into this finishing stroke the vital sj)ark of infinite 
 life. This immortal offspring of God not only 
 imaged His own likeness in the constitution of their 
 being, but in the conceptions of their minds and 
 
TRUTH IN ITS HIGHER MANIFESTATIONS. 49 
 
 realisation of tlieir spirits. They not only possessed 
 in the substance and mechanism of their existence a 
 counterpart of the oLjective Divine, but realised in 
 their consciousness the reflex of the subjective God. 
 Their whole nature moved in perfect sympathy with 
 the Divine. The fellowship between the finite and 
 the Infinite was perfect in kind, though not complete 
 in degree ; the spirit exulting in the fulness of its 
 joy, the mind clear in its discernment of the light of 
 the true, the soul joyous in the purity of its afiections 
 and satisfied Avith the bliss of the Divine. Man 
 delighted in his being, and rejoiced in the presence of 
 his God; and God, beholding in the objective and 
 subjective of man the lovely reflex of His own being 
 and life, rested with the entire satisfaction of His 
 Infinite complacency in His first-born oflspring. 
 There was an interchange of affection, of thought, of 
 confidence, of delight. Man received from God the 
 fulness of his joy, the energy of his life, and returned 
 the gratitude of his soul. God imjDarting to man the 
 outgoing of His fulness, beheld in the human the 
 exemplar of His design, the embodiment of His 
 ideal, the perfection of His work, and received from 
 man the full confidence of his love. ]\Ian had only, 
 in the study of creation and in the fellowship of the 
 Divine, to develop the capacities of his being, acquaint 
 himself with the j^rinciples of his constitution, the 
 end of his life, and to exercise the powers of his 
 existence in communion with his Father, to advance 
 to higher perfection, and ascend, in the endless pro- 
 gress of the reception of the Divine, to nearer and 
 
 D 
 
50 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 nearer resemLlance to God and deeper consciousness 
 of His life. 
 
 As man gazed on liis own being, tlic nearest 
 approach of tlie finite to the Infinite, he would per- 
 ceive the objective Divine reflected in the ol)jective 
 human; as he realised life, he would become conscious 
 of the subjective Divine being mirrored in the sub- 
 jective human ; and as he developed the powers and 
 capacities of his life, he would ascend to a fuller 
 fellowship, a higher enjoyment of being in himself, 
 throuoh means of his life in God and a more complete 
 knowledge of the true. If creation reflected the 
 objective Infinite and was summed up in man, then 
 the human mind would receive, in its contemplation 
 of the outer and realisation of the inner, an advancing 
 impress of the objective Divine. As the body of the 
 infant in the progress of growth approaches the 
 maturity of manhood, so would the objective human 
 rise in nearer measure to the objective Divine. If 
 the inner of man imaged the inner of God, then as 
 man read in his own being and life, and realised more 
 of existence in his fuller consciousness, the subjective 
 of man would pass into a nearer oneness with the 
 subjective of God, as the consciousness of infancy in 
 the development of life passes into a fuller know- 
 ledge of humanity. And thus the fellowship of man 
 with God would grow in measure as he advanced 
 into the deeper and fuller realisation of his own being 
 and life, the subjective finite would pass into a closer 
 oneness with tlie subjective Divine, the inner life of 
 man into a nearer realisation to the life of God. 
 
TR UTH IN ITS HIGHER MANIFESTA TIONS. 5 1 
 
 Man, the child of God, the heir of the Infinite and 
 Eternal, the student of the Divine, would come to 
 know the truth, to bask in its radiance, to realise its 
 bliss, and to reflect its glory. Truth to be fully 
 known requires not merely a completed objective, 
 Ijut a perfect subjective. If the subjective should be 
 diseased — i.e., morally disordered, conscious of guilt — 
 the objective would be appalling to the subjective, and 
 struggled against by the subjective. The subjective 
 could not rest satisfied with this ol)jective, however 
 faithful an exemplar of itself, l)ut would strive to 
 bring it into such a condition as would satisfy it. 
 And thus error and discordance would necessarily be 
 generated in the mind. The mind could not be in a 
 condition of truthfulness. 
 
 As long as fellowship was enjoyed with God, truth 
 Avas known by man. Life was realised by him in the 
 development of the human, through the indwelling 
 operations of the Divine. Man was a possessor of 
 truth, a student of truth, a witness for the truth. It 
 is only in the fellowship of the Divine, and in the 
 consciousness of the life of God in the soul, that truth 
 can be known ; not in the mere scientific study of 
 nature, nor in the speculations of the human mind, 
 but in the realisation of spiritual vitality. In spiritual 
 life, the subjective human is one with the subjective 
 Divine, the objective perceived with the objective 
 real. Truth cannot be known in the consciousness of 
 a discordant condition of existence, however clear the 
 individual's perception may be of the relations and 
 laws of being. If, then, in the mysteries of being, 
 
52 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 there were to arise in tlie deep recesses of the soul an 
 aversion of heart from God, then truth would cease to 
 oe known, if the slightest misgiving were to enter 
 into the consciousness. If a sense of guilt were to he 
 realised, there then would be no longer a oneness of 
 the subjective human with the subjective Divine, of 
 the objective human with the objective real. There 
 would be in the subjective of such consciousness a 
 fall, a falsehood, a contradiction; and if from this 
 cause there should arise on any account a necessity of 
 a curse or blight, even for a time, spreading itself over 
 creation, then the universe would no longer be the 
 exemplar or faithful transcript of the model concept 
 of the Infinite Mind, the true offspring of God. If, 
 then, there be in the nature of free agency the pos- 
 sibility of a creature violating the obligations of his 
 wellbeing, and if this possibility should become a 
 reality, then that creature would be no longer what 
 God had made him; his subjective and objective would 
 be no longer one with the subjective and objective 
 Divine, and the beauty of creation, as influenced by 
 his standing in it, would be marred and its perfection 
 destroyed. The world w^ould be no longer the mirror 
 in which was reflected the objective Divine, the 
 human consciousness would no longer be the counter- 
 part of the subjective of God. The human personality 
 would be no longer one in conscious enjoyment with 
 the Divine personality, the individual will would be 
 no longer in harmony with the end, the principles 
 and obligations of life. The concord, vigour, and 
 
TRUTH IN Il^S HIGHER MANIFESTATIONS. 53 
 
 Lliss of human existence would be gone, and man at 
 most would only remain a splendid ruin. 
 
 Into this most dire of all possibilities we may 
 plunge, and grope amid innumerable suppositions, 
 and stumble upon endless guesses, from which we 
 can discover no outlet. Through this labyrinth we 
 can trace no path ; analogy itself is inadequate. The 
 fall of man, the extinction of the Divine life in the 
 soul, is the anomaly of man's existence ; hence the 
 absurdity of attempting any explanation of it, in 
 accordance with the rules of looic. The onlv distant 
 approach of analogy which, in the wildest suppositions 
 of imagination, can be conceived of as bearing in the 
 least upon this dark enigma, is the monstrous forma- 
 tions of the womb, the lasus naturoe, which occasionally 
 meet the eye. Admitting the fact of a disruption in 
 the world — a fact which no philosophy can disprove, 
 and a fact which no scepticism can disannul — it must 
 be clear that the subjective human is no longer one 
 with the subjective Divine, the objective human with 
 the objective real. Just as the corrupt or mutilated 
 text of a printed book is no longer one with the pure 
 and correct manuscript of the written work, so the 
 diseased frame of man, the rebellious spirit, the fallen 
 world, is no longer one with the new-born creation 
 which God pronounced to be very good. And should 
 this disturbed order of being be read as the pure text 
 of revelation, with the view of ascertaining from it 
 the mind of God — if this fallen condition of humanity 
 should be studied with the view of becominof ac- 
 quainted with the real workmanship of God or the 
 
54 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 true nature of man, a grave error is committed, and 
 a false impression of the will and design of God is 
 received. If the guilty conscience and the rebellious 
 spirit of man be read in the light of consciousness, in 
 order to learn the true character of the soul, the real 
 nature of spiritual life, and the original manifestation 
 of the Divine in the human, the result must be error 
 and confusion. 
 
 And this is the very error into which rationalists 
 and many scientific men are continually falling. They 
 study the existing order of things, the present state 
 of the world, with the view of coming to a correct 
 conception of the work of God, the original mani- 
 festation of the Divine to man, and expect by so 
 doing to arrive at a knowledge of truth, of being, of 
 God. But they perceive not that the sympathies, 
 sentiments, desires, and consciousness of man are not 
 what they originally were ; that the development of 
 the nature, the unfolding of the principles, the in- 
 vigoration of the powers, the exercise of the functions, 
 and the realisation of the life of man are not what 
 they were when fresh from the hand of God. It is 
 thus impossible for them in such a study to arrive at 
 a knowledge of truth. Those who would thus study 
 do not see that their perceptions must necessarily be 
 obscure, perplexing, and contradictory. Hence the 
 error and conflict of the contending schools of philo- 
 sophy and sects in religion. The world may be in 
 substance what it originally Avas, but is no longer 
 Avhat it was in its relations, operations, and realisa- 
 tions. 
 
TRUTH IN ITS HIGHER MANIFESTATIONS. 55 
 
 In tlie study of liumainty, as made known to us 
 in the life of man, we may arrive at a knowledge of 
 the elements, faculties, existing relations, and actual 
 experience and known consciousness of man ; but such 
 a knowledge cannot afford a clear insio'ht into the 
 original condition of man, much less can it supply 
 a right conception of the purpose of God in creating 
 man. As soon may we from the study of a dead body 
 obtain a correct idea of life, as from the present con- 
 dition of man acqnire a correct conception of the life 
 of God in the soul. Discordant humanity can afford 
 no clear revelation from God ; it can supply no 
 medium of communion with God ; it can furnish no 
 power of enjoying God. God is not in the heart and 
 life of man, and therefore cannot be discovered in the 
 nature of man. From the parchment of humanity 
 the orioinal revelation of God has been obliterated, 
 and the legendary tales of the fathers written in its 
 stead. 
 
 Fallen man is not tlie manifestation of the Divine, 
 the record of the True. He cannot be the manifesta- 
 tion of the Divine, for his subjective is no longer the 
 counterpart of the subjective of God, and thus he 
 realises not as God realises. He sees not in the lio-ht 
 of the true, for his objective is no longer one with the 
 objective real. He realises not the power of the truth, 
 nor can he possibly realise the power and the enjoy- 
 ment of the truth, for his efforts to realise the power 
 and enjoyment of the truth are not in accordance 
 with the truth. What condescension, then, is in God 
 to reveal Himself to man, to quicken him with the 
 
56 THE SCIENCE OE SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 Divine life, and enable liim to enjoy the fellowship 
 of the inner circle of the Sonship ! The sculptor who 
 chisels the marble into the noblest form of material 
 beanty, the painter who traces on the canvas the 
 divine countenance of man in all but the eiow of 
 
 O 
 
 life, do illustrious deeds, and win for themselves 
 merited fame. If they could confer life and animate 
 their work with the thrill of soul, how much higher, 
 more illustrious, and noble would their work be ! 
 Could the highest genius on earth confer on his 
 favourite animal his own ideal, emotional, vital — 
 his own genius in the highest form in which it 
 could be transferred — and enter into the nearest, 
 most endearing intercourse of life with the subject 
 of his own vitality, he could not confer a higher gift 
 on that creature. What, then, is the condescension 
 of God in creating man with a capacity for his own 
 ideal, emotional, vital — quickening him with His own 
 life, and training him in the reception and interchange 
 of the Divine subjective. Yet fallen man, in his 
 speculative efforts and carnal endeavours, is ever 
 labouring to frustrate this high and most God-like 
 design of the Eternal Father, by attempting to bring 
 down the lofty conception of the Infinite Mind, the 
 divine workmanship of the great God of heaven and 
 earth, within the narrow limits of his own fallen ideal 
 and carnal desires. 
 
(57) 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE TRANSMISSION AND RECEPTION OF TRUTH. 
 
 Having in the last chapter considered truth in itself, 
 it may now be profitable to inquire into matters 
 connected with its transmission and reception. 
 
 In order to the transmission of truth the subjec- 
 tive to which an objective is addressed must be able 
 to receive it in the comprehension of it. If the sub- 
 jective be in affinity with the objective presented, a 
 very slight hint will lead to the perception of it ; 
 but if, on the other hand, the subjective be averse to 
 truth, no manifestation will lead to the full compre- 
 hension and reception of it. The history of the 
 inductive sciences afford brilliant illustrations of the 
 former of these facts. The slow progress in study of 
 those who set about it as an unpleasant task sufficiently 
 establishes the latter. Spiritual truth follows in its 
 transmission the laws which govern other truth. In 
 the enlightening of man in the tliiugs of God there 
 must be presented to him an objective suited to his 
 condition, and at the same time there must be a 
 quickening of his subjective into an affinity Avitli 
 the objective presented to him. Here indeed is the 
 keystone of the arch. Man in his fallen condition is 
 
58 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 not al)le of liimself to attain to a true knowledge of 
 God ; he has no affinity for such knowledge, and 
 when spiritual truth is presented to him, he is 
 repelled by his dislike from it, and the great work 
 of God in man's recovery is the production within 
 him of a rece^^tivity for Himself. 
 
 If a creature has no capacity for the indwelling of 
 God, iu the manifestation of Himself God cannot 
 reveal Himself to that creature; if the creature has 
 no receptivity for the manifestation which God gives 
 of Himself, this creature can have no acquaintance 
 with God throuixh means of such manifestation. In 
 order to the intercourse of the creature with God 
 there must be a manifestation and a suitable recep- 
 tivity. Mediation is thus a necessity of communion 
 between the Infinite and the finite. The inner or 
 unknown of the Infinite must become the manifesta- 
 tion of the Divine and the knowable of the finite — 
 i.e., the subjective of the Infinite must become the 
 objective in revelation, and the objective of revelation 
 must become the subjective of the human ; and the 
 manifestation of the Divine must be conditioned to 
 the circumstances of man, and the subjective of man 
 must be made sympathetic with the revelation of the 
 subjective of God. There must be a pure receptivity 
 in the human ere there can be an incarnate life of the 
 Infinite in man ; in other words, a communion of the 
 finite with the Infinite through the indwelling of the 
 Son of God. Were a manifestation of the Divine or 
 a revelation of the subjective of God given to man 
 which was not cognisable to the spiritual perception 
 
TRANSMISSION AND RECEPTION OF TRUTH. 59 
 
 of man, God would not tlirougli means of it be 
 known to man ; and if man had no organ of God- 
 consciousness, or inner eye of discernment, lie could 
 receive no immediate manifestation of God. On the 
 other hand, if the organ of God-consciousness is 
 dormant, and the heart preoccupied with a spirit of 
 antagonism to the Divine, man cannot close in with 
 the manifestation of God or enter into delightful 
 fellowship with Him. Were a human being born 
 into the world destitute of the bodily senses, he could 
 hold no intercourse with his fellow-men — he would 
 be shut up within himself and isolated from all 
 around him; but if one after another of the senses 
 w^ere imparted to him, then as each was bestowed he 
 would be elevated in the scale of existence, and 
 enabled to enter into correspondingly enlarged inter- 
 course with his fellow-men. Again, if his senses were 
 in such a diseased and perverted state that their exer- 
 cise could only afford to him pain, and if the objects 
 coming into contact with his senses could only in- 
 tensify that pain, then would he turn away from such 
 objects and shut up himself within himself, and seek 
 to occupy himself with anything that might relieve 
 him of his pain. On the other hand, if a being were 
 created with a hundred senses, and placed in the 
 centre of blank space with no ol)ject near him on 
 which he could exercise his senses, then, however 
 acute or perfect those senses might be, he could not 
 exercise them. 
 
 But take now the case of an individual who possesses 
 all his senses in a high state of cultivation, and who 
 
6o THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 is surrounded with all tliat is necessary to tlieir pro- 
 per exercise, sucli a one would as a matter of course 
 possess the means of high enjoyment and agreeable 
 intercourse. And thus it is with the mind and the 
 spirit of man ; for if an individual is born into the 
 world and continues all his time in it in a state 
 of insanity, he is excluded from the higher regions of 
 intellectual life, and from the exercise and enjoyment 
 of rational fellowship. Or were he endowed with the 
 highest genius, but destitute of an adequate manifes- 
 tation of the Divine — in other words, left entirely to 
 himself in this matter — then would he have no suitable 
 employment for his lofty powers in things pertaining 
 more nearly to God ; he could hare no fellowship with 
 the Father of spirits through means of the interchange 
 of thought and affection. But further, supposing that 
 innumerable manifestations of the Divine were dis- 
 played around him, and endless gifts of eternal love 
 bestowed upon him, yet were the God-conscious 
 organ of his spirit blind, he could have no fellowship 
 with God. The God-conscious faculty can never of 
 itself attain to the needful manifestation of the 
 Divine, it cannot j)cnetrate the inner recesses and 
 discover the secrets of Godhead. The intuitional 
 consciousness can read only what is in man, tlie 
 intellect can only contemplate the facts and operation 
 of nature, and reason can legitimately infer only 
 rational results ; faith, however, beholds the manifes- 
 tations of the Divine, and fellowship enlarges with 
 experience. If, then, there be no distinction between 
 nature and God — in other words, if there be no per- 
 
TRANSMISSION AND RECEPTION OF TRUTH. 6i 
 
 sonal God, there can of course be no commnnica- 
 tion between God and man; but, on the contrary, if 
 nature be the creature of God, and man the offspring 
 of the Father of spirits, then as the human father can 
 communicate his will to liis son, so may God reveal 
 Himself to man ; or as a medical practitioner may act 
 on the brain of the insane so as to draw out his 
 thoughts into lucid order, so may God act on the 
 heart of the sinner to turn him to Himself. 
 
 The subject-matter of a revelation to fallen man 
 must be supernatural, a communication from God to 
 man of that which is out of and beyond man's power 
 of discovery. God can hardly be supposed to com- 
 municate by supernatural means to man anything 
 within the reach of his natural powers. Man with 
 pen and ink can trace his thoughts on paper, he can 
 combine the mechanical powers so as within certain 
 limits to accomplish his will, he can rej^roduce his 
 imao-e and train his offspring in his own life. Now, if 
 man can do so much, why should we limit God ? He 
 can thunder in the heavens, and may He not whisper 
 in the ear? He can paint with the frost on the polished 
 glass, and may He not depict on the mind of the seer? 
 He can regenerate the soul, and may He not suggest 
 to the spirit ? He created the intuitional consciousness 
 of man, and may He not elevate it to read inner 
 visions afforded to the spirit ? He produced the God- 
 conscious faculty in the human soul, and may He not 
 quicken it with His spirit ? He incarnated His Son, and 
 may He not reveal Himself to man ? Man through 
 means of his senses receives impressions from material 
 
62 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 things, by means of liis mind he receives eternal, 
 immutable, and indestructible ideas, and may he not 
 throuo-h the elevation of his intuitional consciousness 
 perceive the objective and subjective Divine, and by 
 the quickening of his God-conscious faculty see God ? 
 External things with external evidence come to him 
 through his senses, mathematical ideas with demon- 
 stration come to him through his intellect, and moral 
 truth with conviction comes to him through his con- 
 science, and may not revelation from God come to 
 him through his realisation of the Divine ? In sleep 
 one part of man's nature is dormant while another is 
 active, and while man is asleep the action of thought 
 in him is occupied with delusions. In the realities of 
 being there is nothing corresponding with the ideal 
 of the sleeper. In Scripture sleep is an emblem of 
 the natural or unre2:enerate state. In the natural 
 state man only dreams of the Divine, his ideal of the 
 Divine has nothing corresponding to it in the realities 
 of God. Waiving the question as to whether an 
 unfallen creature, irrespective of Divine communica- 
 tion, can sound the deeper depths of Deity, must it 
 not be evident that with his God-conscious faculty 
 dormant, his subjective averse to the holy, man will 
 be separate from God and perceive the Divine only in 
 dreamland ? If his intuitional consciousness discern 
 only the fanciful, his ideal of the Divine cannot 
 correspond with the realities of God. And does not 
 human experience prove that such is the case ? Man, 
 irrespective of the light of revelation, has not arrived 
 at correct conceptions of God ; and even with the aid 
 
TRANSMISSION AND RECEPTION OE TRUTH. 63 
 
 of revelation, men, speculating instead of believing, 
 reach not conceptions which satisfy the intellect and 
 the heart-knowledge in which all agree. And why 
 not ? Because of the aversion of the subjective of man 
 to its own disturbance and to the objective of God. 
 Man has clear conceptions of abstract truth, but not 
 of God and Divine things. If, then, we hold to the 
 doctrine tliat all truth comes from God, and that all 
 truth is in God, how can we account for the fact that 
 man possesses clear conceptions of abstract truth, but 
 has no correct idea of God and Divine things ? Does 
 God reveal Himself in abstractions to the spirit of man 
 and not in divine quickenings ? Man's spiritual is 
 disordered, and as the lunatic refuses to acknowledge 
 his lunacy and the prejudiced his prejudice, so does 
 man refuse to acknowledo"e his " carnal." 
 
 Man of himself has no discernment of God or agree- 
 able intercourse with Him, yet man is conscious of a 
 spiritual in his life — i.e., he is conscious of a super- 
 natural force within which acts on his physical so as 
 to impel or restrain its operations. The distinction 
 between the subjective and the objective of the spirit- 
 ual and physical is involved in the very nature of 
 things, and made much more apparent by sin. K 
 man possesses not only an intuitional consciousness 
 but also a God-conscious faculty, he must possess a 
 capacity for immediate communion with God ; and 
 were he to be for ever deprived of the enjoyment of 
 fellowship with his Father in heaven, he could not be 
 a son nor realise the filial life. 
 
 If, then, God is to reveal Himself to man, how is 
 
64 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRIIUAL LIFE. 
 
 He to do so ? Is He to force on tlie averse subjective 
 tliat wliicli it dislikes ? Siicli cannot be the case, it 
 is mucli more likely that God shall reveal Himself in 
 a manner suited to the condition of man's subjective, 
 and also do so with a view to quicken that subjective 
 into harmony with the manifestation given. As the 
 educator must present instruction to the child, level 
 to his capacity, and the physician administer medicine 
 suited to the condition of his patient, so must God. 
 reveal Himself in a manner level to the capacity and. 
 suited to the circumstances of the sinner. And as 
 truth contains in itself what is level to the capacity of 
 the child and what is beyond the comprehension of 
 an archanfrel, so must that revelation which discloses 
 the deep things of God to man be both level to the 
 capacity of man and be beyond the present apprehen- 
 sion of finite intelligence. And as the child would, be 
 esteemed very silly and precocious who might refuse to 
 submit to the teaching of a parent because he could not 
 in his first lesson comprehend all that was meant, in 
 like manner should be esteemed the man who, because 
 he cannot in his first glance of revelation comprehend 
 the deepest depths of the Divine, should reject that 
 revelation. And as the child would be sure only to err 
 who would only receive such instruction as was pleasant 
 and agreeable to him, so must it be with the man who, 
 instead of yielding up implicitly his heart and mind 
 to the truth of revelation, endeavours to bring the 
 doctrine of God into conformity with his tastes and 
 previously-conceived notions. And how presumptuous 
 is it in man, who cannot comprehend his own being in 
 
TRANSMISSION AND RECEPTION OF TRUTH. 65 
 
 the movements of liis own life, to refuse to listen to 
 the voice of revelation because it informs him of 
 things which is beyond the sphere of his comprehen- 
 sion ! God may employ humanity to emit certain 
 sounds, use man as a dreamer to dream particular 
 dreams, as a seer to see and describe heavenly 
 visions, as a herald to convey His message, as a 
 reasoner to reason out His suggestions, as a body for 
 His Spirit to dwell in. Personality and its indi- 
 vidualities enter into the very nature of man ; and 
 as the construction of a trumpet affects the sound 
 that passes through it, the character of the dreamer 
 the dream, the acuteness of the eye of the seer the 
 vividness of the vision, the intellect of the reasoner 
 the charactex of the reasoning, so does the personality 
 of the inspired the phase of the inspiration that 
 passes through him. This is manifest in all the 
 aspects of revelation from Balaam to John. 
 
 The visual discernment of the seer did not surmount 
 the objective manifestations and quickening opera- 
 tions of the Divine. The Spirit's communications 
 were conditioned to the manifestation of the Son ; for 
 if the Son be the revelation of the Father, if He be 
 the subjective and objective of the Infinite and 
 Eternal, if " in Him dwells the fulness of the God- 
 head bodily," then he who sees the Son must see the 
 Father ; and if it be the province of the Spirit in His 
 revelation of the Divine as He quickens the human to 
 take the things which are Christ's and show them to 
 the believer, if the function of the Spirit in insj)iring' 
 the apostles was to bring to their recollections what- 
 
 E 
 
66 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 soever Christ had spoken, tlien the Spirit's communi- 
 cations, in the inner revelations He affords to the 
 disciple, must wholly harmonise witli the manifesta- 
 tions of the fulness of the times. And tlms the 
 manifestations of tlie Son will he apprehended by 
 man only as he is quickened in the organ of his God- 
 consciousness by the Spirit ; and as the final end of all 
 revelation is to make "every knee to bow, and every 
 tonirue to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the 
 glory of God the Father "— 2. e., to display tlie Son as 
 head over all — all Divine revelation must be pre- 
 fifrurativc of and subservient to the manifestations of 
 the Son. And thus tliere can be no inner visions 
 from God to man, or internal revelations of the 
 Divine to the believer that in any way differ from 
 the outer revelations of the Son to the world. The 
 province of the Spirit is not merely to reveal Christ, 
 but, in order to His reception in the inner life, to 
 produce a receptive subjective in man ; and this work 
 of the Spirit is not completed all at once, as is 
 apparent in the experience of Peter, wdio, after lie 
 had announced the reception of the Gentiles into the 
 Church, required the vision of the sheet let down by 
 the four corners to prepare him for preaching to 
 Cornelius. 
 
 Man's tendency to the formal and corrupt, and his 
 aversion to the sj^iritual and divine, have been mani- 
 fest in all ages. In man's fallen condition sense has 
 ever been strue^o-linfic to absorb soul, Christ Himself 
 found it a most difficult w-ork to enlighten the minds 
 even of His disciples. His complaint to them was. 
 
TRANSMISSION AND RECEPTION OF TRUTH. 67 
 
 " I have many things to say unto you, but j^ou can- 
 not bear them now." He had to wait for favourable 
 moments in their states of receptivity to communi- 
 cate to them His truth, and to adapt His statement 
 of it to them as they were able to receive it. If, then, 
 a revelation capable of lifting man out of his down- 
 ward tendency was to be afforded him, it was neces- 
 sary that this revelation should be communicated in 
 such a manner as was most fitted to counteract the 
 biases of his fallen nature. The "diversity of gifts," 
 the "sundry times," the "divers manners" in which 
 God spake to the prophets, the numerous forms, the 
 many individuals He employed, were all necessary 
 to the adequate conveyance of the truth to man, and 
 all subservient to the Church's arriving at correct 
 understanding of the revelation of God. Diversity in 
 form and variety in letter affect not the unity of the 
 Spirit nor the oneness of the truth. Sounds, signs, 
 and words are necessary to the transmission of ideas : 
 the formal, ritual, and ceremonial to the spiritual; 
 the Jewish dispensation to the Christian Church ; the 
 body to the indwelling of the soul. The letter is not 
 but for the idea, the manifestation is not but for the 
 Spirit ; and the manifestation is in accordance with 
 its Spirit, the language in accordance with the idea, 
 and the body is moulded by the soul which animates 
 it. 
 
 While God is superior to the manifestations He 
 gives of Himself, and is not necessitated to manifest 
 Himself, yet if He does reveal Himself, then the 
 revelation He gives must be conditioned by the mode 
 
68 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 He adopts. As tlie flame is coutained in and condi- 
 tioned in its brightness by the atmospliere in which 
 it burns, as the soul is contained in and conditioned 
 in its operations of physical life by the faculties of 
 the body, so in transmission the idea is contained in 
 and also conditioned by the language in which it is 
 expressed. The Logos or Sou of God is contained in 
 the Son of man, and conditioned in His manifesta- 
 tions of the Divine to the world by the sayings and 
 doino;s of the Man Christ Jesus. 
 
 Thought or idea, in passing from the Infinite Mind 
 to the finite mind, must be conditioned by the 
 medium of conveyance. But if the Divine be com- 
 municated without a medium of transmission, if it be 
 made known directly by God, is it conditioned in its 
 transmission and qualified in its reception ? Does 
 God reveal Himself only or chiefly in thought ? Does 
 He not communicate Himself supremely in love ? 
 Is not the finite dependent on the Infinite for all, 
 and especially for its most direct communings with 
 God ? Does not the sjDirit of man receive directly as 
 well as indirectly from God ; and is not the spirit of 
 man capable of immediate contact with God, of direct 
 reception and immediate indwelling of the Spirit of 
 God ? An incarnation of the Divine has taken place. 
 All communication from God to man is subordinate 
 to the indwelling of God in man. The spirit of man 
 was created in the image of God ; and if so, it must 
 contain in it a capacity for the Divine and possibility 
 of God's indwelling. And may not the spirit of man, 
 through the quickening of its organ of God-conscious- 
 
TJ^ANSiMISSION AND RECEPTION OF TRUTH. 69 
 
 ness, look directly on God ; and may not God com- 
 municate to the quickened spirit without the inter- 
 vention of a medium what the world cannot have 
 revealed to it ? And if so, must not such communi- 
 cation be more immediate than any transmission 
 throuoh lano-uao-e ? AVhat is life ? has it a form ? 
 Is the filling of the believing spirit of man with " all 
 the fulness of God " accomplished through means of 
 forms ? May not the Spirit of God flash upon the 
 eye of the soul what cannot be uttered in form or 
 expressed in language ? Did not Paul in the third 
 heavens come into contact with the unutterable ? 
 
 Truth is one in God, but are the manifestations of 
 truth in its outo-oinsrs from Him invariable, and is 
 truth in its apprehensions by man uniform ? Is tlie 
 spirit of man in his fallen condition capaljle of appre- 
 hending the higher phases of truth % Was not a 
 subjective quickening, even in the case of some of the 
 prophets, necessary to their becoming the vehicles of 
 the higher forms of Old Testament revelation, to their 
 reception of the inbreathing of the Divine, to their 
 beholding the visions of the Son of God ? And was 
 not a higher degree of subjective quickening necessary 
 to the apostles for their more spiritual apj^rehensions 
 of the higher visions of the risen One, that from their 
 own realisations of the Divine they might communi- 
 cate visions and revelations to the Church ? And is 
 not a regeneration or quickening with the Divine still 
 necessary for the reception of spiritual truth ? Is it 
 not, and shall it not ever be, that just as we come 
 into a oneness of Spirit, we shall come into a oneness 
 
70 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 of mind, a, knowledge of tlie truth, a consciousness of 
 the life of God ? 
 
 The letter can neither express nor give full utter- 
 ance to the Spirit, nor can the God-conscious faculty 
 in man, while in its diseased state, see God, Somej 
 aspects of philosophic and scientific thought, by the 
 manner in which they treat these lofty themes, would 
 lead us into error. We cannot but regard all specula- 
 tion resjDecting the undisclosed things of God as an 
 attempt to s|)ell from the alphabet of creation in the 
 light of nature the name of God, and from the present 
 condition of life in man to deduce the character and 
 learn the mind of God. But no finite can fully 
 express the Infinite, and no condition of the creature 
 can adequately make known the Creator, much less 
 can a disturbed creation and a fallen finite. Science 
 and speculation must for ever fail in their attempts to 
 extract from the un and anti Divine condition of 
 humanity an adequate conception of the being, per- 
 fections, and character of God ; but faith, beholding 
 as with open face in a glass the glory of the Lord so 
 as to be changed into the same image, can compre- 
 hend the love of God, and is able to grasp the mani- 
 festation of the Divine. 
 
 Faith is the yielding up the heart to God in the 
 reception of the Divine, it is the recognition of God 
 in that revelation which discloses His purpose and^ 
 makes Him known to man ; and thus through faith's 
 reception of the truth the spirit of man becomes 
 conscious of the Divine life, the believer in Christ 
 receives the Spirit, lives the life, possesses the mind 
 
TRANSMISSION AND RECEPTION OF 7 RUTH. 71 
 
 of God, and will hereafter "know as lie is known," 
 "see face to face," and "be filled Avitli all tlie fulness 
 of God." But man on earth cannot see God, flesh 
 and blood cannot inherit the kingdom, corruption 
 cannot put on incorruption. Affinity of nature and 
 identity of life are necessary to community of mind and 
 intercourse of soul. A stone cannot realise a sensation, 
 a brute cannot comprehend an argument, or an angel 
 live a renewed life ; and Avhy ? because they have no 
 receptivity for these things. Kevelation is the mani- 
 festation of the Son of God ; but the Son of God is 
 not fully disclosed in the written Word, nor was He 
 fully seen, known, or comprehended by any of His 
 disciples in the days of His flesh, nor has He since 
 been seen alike by any two believers. The four 
 Evangelists did not see Him alike, nor did they 
 severally exhibit Him in the same phase of cha- 
 racter. 
 
 Nor is this difierence peculiar to man's contempla- 
 tion of the Divine, it enters more or less into all human 
 belief. No two individuals ever gazed upon any one 
 object so as to receive the exact same impression from 
 it, nor 'is the same realisation by two or more disciples 
 necessary to faith in Christ and fellowship with Him, 
 It may be desirable to have the same realisations, but 
 this state has not yet been reached, nor will it pro- 
 bably be attained to on earth, nor is it necessary to 
 saving acquaintance with Christ. Humanity is one 
 and the same in all the difl"erent individuals of the 
 race, but no two of the human family possess it 
 identically alike ; human life is essentially the same 
 
72 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 in all men, but no two men realise life alike or live 
 the exact same life. 
 
 In adapting the revelation of Himself to the 
 present condition of man, it was necessary for God 
 to restrain as far as it was possible the corrupting 
 tendencies of the human heart from perverting the 
 spiritual to the purposes of the formal. And pro- 
 bably this is one of the ends contemplated in the 
 numerous and peculiar modes employed by God 
 in giving to man a revelation of Himself. Diversity 
 in the statement of the same thino; mav lead different 
 individuals to a like conception of it. Is not this 
 actually realised by the spiritual in Christ of the dif- 
 ferent denominations ? Are they not far more one at 
 the throne of grace, in their realisations of spiritual 
 life and in their apprehensions of Christ, than they 
 are aware of or will acknowledofe when enjxaired in 
 their denominational strifes, or actuated by their 
 sectarian feelings ? This fact surely warrants us in 
 coming to the conclusion that the different state- 
 ments of the same truth, or varied modes of pre- 
 senting the same thing, may lead different individuals 
 to the same conception of it. Do not the four 
 Gospels help us to a fuller, clearer, more correct and 
 uniform view of the Son of God than any one of them 
 could have done ? 
 
 Certainly the same statement of any subject of 
 discourse does not lead all that listen to it to the 
 same conception of it. The speaker in a discourse is 
 one, his discourse as uttered by him is the same 
 to all his hearers ; the ideas expressed, the words 
 
TRANSMISSION AND RECEPTION OF TRUTH. 73 
 
 spoken, are the same to all tlie assembly, but tlie 
 impression or conception of tlie discom'se is not 
 exactly the same in any two of his audience. Could 
 he in uttering his discourse employ a variety of style 
 and diversity of expression, he would lead the dif- 
 ferent individuals in the same assembly to a 
 more uniform conception of the spirit of his dis- 
 course. 
 
 The end of revelation is the disclosure of the 
 Divine to the human, and the instrument which God 
 employs for the accomplishment of this end is the 
 inspired presence exhibiting Christ to the eye of faith. 
 Are the inspired writers, then, in the illustrations 
 which they draw from nature, providence, and creation, 
 bound to make use of such expressions as fit exactly in 
 with the past, present, and future views of scientific 
 and philosophic men ? Surely not. They have one 
 object in view, and whatever is best fitted to gain 
 that end they will certainly employ. Style in inspired 
 composition, or the suitableness of this word over 
 that, is not thought of. In fervid thought or intense 
 writing, the words arise in the mind as the spirit 
 kindles and the heart glows, and the words which 
 tlius arise are the most suitable clothino; for the ideas 
 which spring up in the inspired mind. The glowing 
 strains of poetry do not exhaust the sublime enthusiasm 
 of the poet, and much less does the dull and unim- 
 passioned mind of the mere prosaic reader, in perusing 
 the eloquent effusions of the poet, realise the spiritual 
 of his verse. Is there not in the lofty mind what 
 language cannot express, and is there not in the sub- 
 
74 THE SCIENCE QF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 lime utterances of liigli themes what dull spirits can- 
 uot perceiv^e ? Doubtless, diversity of utterance does 
 assist different minds in coming to like conception, 
 and tliis fact throws light on the difference of style 
 and diversity of mode employed by God in revealing 
 His will to man. No two statements in Scripture of 
 the same thing, nor any two references to the same 
 event, discourse, or sayiug, nor any one quotation in 
 the New Testament from the Old, are verbally alike. 
 Now, are w^e to regard this fact in the composition of 
 inspired Scripture as the result of carelessness or 
 accident ? Surely not ; it is doubtless designed to 
 teach us that it is the spirit and not the language of 
 revelation that is the truth of God. 
 
 The controversies, then, about the modes and forms 
 of revelation, the verbal or plenary nature of inspira- 
 tion, or the scientific correctness of certain expressions 
 in particular portions of the sacred volume, are after 
 all but of secondary importance ; without the 
 quickening of the Spirit no form even of inspired 
 truth will lead man to a spiritual knowledge of God, 
 and in the quickening of the Spirit the form most 
 suitable to the case in hand will be applied in order 
 to bring men severally to conviction. There is, 
 doubtless, in the numerous phases of the fallen heart, 
 a need of the varied modes of revelation ; and the 
 employment of these varied forms of inspiration dis- 
 plays in richer manner the Divine condescension, and 
 teaches men to look to the Spirit of God for aid 
 in the study of Divine truth, and to come to the con- 
 viction that as the mind of the ins2:)ired penman 
 
TRANSMISSION AND RECEPTION OF TRUTH. 75 
 
 yielded up to, and for the time being was lost to 
 himself in, the spirit of inspiration, so the carnal life 
 of the believer is destroyed in the measure of the 
 • indwellinof of the Divine in his soul. The end of 
 inspiration was to prepare for the coming of, and 
 to express the sayings and doings of the Son of God ; 
 and as the end of revelation required that the mode 
 adopted should most effectually exclude the iDfluencing 
 tendencies of the mediums through which it passed, 
 so must the Divine life in the believer rise su^^erior 
 to all the retarding of " the carnal," and absorb the 
 soul. Inspiration in its final is the inbreathing of 
 the Divine into the human, the incarnation of the 
 Son of God in the Son of man. 
 
( 76 ) 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE PRIMARY LAWS OF PERCEPTION, OR THE CONDITIONED 
 
 OF HUMAN BELIEF. 
 
 From the very constitution of our minds we are 
 forced to the conclusion that there is an eternal, 
 indestructible distinction in the nature of things. 
 We cannot rest satisfied in the notion that there 
 is a sameness in all life and conduct. We cannot 
 rest even in a state of doubt concerning the matter. 
 Nothing short of absolute conviction can possibly 
 satisfy us here. The law which conditions man's 
 thinking shuts us up to this belief. 
 
 The human mind does, however, rest satisfied in 
 the belief of an essential distinction in the nature of 
 things. And man needs no argument to convince 
 him that such and such a result takes place in accord- 
 ance with the nature of tliinos. The human mind 
 does not fret at the conviction that it cannot push an 
 inquiry beyond the perception that such a result 
 happens in accordance with the immutable Jaws of 
 all operation. 
 
 It is not in the power of sophistry to expel this 
 conviction from the human mind, nor can man per- 
 suade himself that even Omnipotence can alter or 
 
THE PRIMARY LA WS OF PERCEPTION. 77 
 
 destroy the necessary properties of being and anni- 
 liilate the essential distinction of things. Man cannot 
 Ly any process of sophistication persuade himself or 
 convince others that being and not being are one and 
 the same thino-. Do what he will, man cannot believe 
 any such thing ; he cannot, for example, believe that 
 a straight line is a curve, and that a circle is a square. 
 Man cannot persuade himself that cause differs in 
 nothing from effect. Do what he will, man cannot 
 convince himself that wisdom is the same thing as 
 folly, that love is the same thing as hatred, that right 
 is identical with wrong, that virtue and vice are 
 synonymous. 
 
 No ; do what he will, man cannot persuade himself 
 that there is not an indestructible distinction between 
 these things. Neither can he convince himself that 
 this distinction does not lie in the very nature of 
 things. Man universally has an indestructible con- 
 viction that contrary qualities belong to . contrary 
 states of being. He is persuaded that the terms 
 which are employed to point out these distinctions 
 are terms which have always been emj^loyed to desig- 
 nate real qualities or essential distinctions in things, 
 and that these qualities and distinctions have their 
 foundations in the very essence of existence. 
 
 And just as man cannot believe that one and the 
 same substance can be in two contrary states or con- 
 ditions of being at one and the same time, so neither 
 can he believe that a substance can pass from one 
 state of existence into an opposite without losing the 
 qualities of the former and acquiring those of the 
 
yS THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 latter state. It is, in fact, tlie j^ossessing tlie qualities 
 of a state that determines a substance or individual 
 to be in that state. And it is in tlie acquiring tlie 
 qualities of one and in the losing the qualities of the 
 other that a substance passes from the one state to 
 another. It is only through our perception of a sub- 
 stance possessing the qualities of a state that we can 
 rationally declare it to be in that state. 
 
 If we contemplate a straight line, and think of it 
 as assuming the form of a curve, we cannot any 
 longer think of it as a straight line ; it no lono-er 
 indicates the shortest distance between the points in 
 which its ends may be laid. If we inscribe a circle 
 within a square, and in thought try to make the 
 periphery assume the form of a square, then to the 
 extent to which we do so it is clear the circle loses its 
 properties ; all straight lines drawn from the centre 
 to its periphery would no longer be equal to one 
 another, and vice versa if we inscribe a square within 
 a circle. Our apprehension of all such truths is con- 
 ditioned by an absolute necessity or immutable law 
 of thinking, a necessary principle or fixed condition 
 in the nature of intellectual being. And this law of 
 thinkiug is involved in the very nature of mind. 
 And as there is no sufficient reason for believino- that 
 our intellectual being is other tlian a reflex of the 
 Divine, this law of thinking, or condition of belief, 
 must have its origin or seat in the immutable prin- 
 ciple of the uncreated essence of the Infinite and 
 Eternal Mind. And this law, which necessitates the 
 method of our thinking, appertains not merely to the 
 
THE PRIMAR Y LA WS OF PER CEPTION. 7 9 
 
 domain of matter or of mathematical forms, ^^'e are 
 also convinced that it has a place in the sphere of 
 morals, and that it as really belongs to the region of 
 spirit as to the domain of intellect. On what ground, 
 for example, can it be affirmed that spiritual life is 
 less exact or immutable in its essential conditions 
 than are mathematical properties or material forms ? 
 Is the being of God, the nature of Spirit, or the 
 principles which determine that nature in its deposi- 
 tions, volitions, and consciousness, less exact and 
 definite than the properties of the circle or of 
 the square ? We think not. The constitution of 
 humanity is surely not less real and immutable in 
 itself in all that appertains to it than the forms and 
 principles of mathematical science. Existence, life, 
 justice, harmony, beauty, and bliss are not less real, 
 though men may differ about them, than the forms 
 of the circle and the properties of the square. Men, 
 for the most part, admit that there are necessary 
 truths, eternal relations, and distinctions which 
 nothing can destroy ; but wdiile many admit this 
 in regard to mathematical and logical forms, they 
 are not so clear about it in regard to other forms of 
 truth. It is impossible, however, that we can rest 
 here. The very perception of necessity in one de- 
 partment of truth naturally leads us to look for the 
 like necessity in other departments. 
 
 There are in the regions of idealism constitutional 
 forms and model conceptions separate and distinct 
 from any one actual existence, and thus it is with 
 humanity. We do not say that this ideal type or 
 
So THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LI IE. 
 
 model concept of liumanity exists in the linmau mind 
 in as clear a form as does its conception of the arch 
 or the square, but surely we may affirm that this 
 concept of man existed in the Divine Mind as defi- 
 nitely as does exist the concept of any mathematical 
 figure in the human mind. If so, then surely the 
 concept was perfect, and man as he came forth from 
 God's hand was in harmony with it. And man, in 
 tlie measure in which he comes up to this model con- 
 cej^t or recedes from it, must from the nature of the 
 case be perfect or imperfect. And if man was created 
 l)y God in complete accordance with this model 
 concept, he must have sprung from the hand of his 
 Creator perfect and entire. And every human being 
 is perfect or imperfect, just in the measure in which 
 he comes up to or recedes from this typal form of 
 humanity in the conceptions of God. 
 
 And who will venture to say that it is impossible 
 that the race of mankind can have passed from a 
 condition of conformity into a state of discordance 
 with this model type ? Now, in the event of such a 
 transition taking place, it is clear that man would no 
 lono-er be what he was when he came forth from the 
 hand of his Creator. And as we are unable to believe 
 that the human body can pass from a state of perfect 
 health into one of sickness and still retain the vigour, 
 beauty, and buoyancy of health, and as we cannot 
 conceive the possibility of the human mind passing 
 from clear views of truth into perplexity of error and 
 still retaining the satisfaction of lucid perceptions, 
 so we cannot imagine that the human heart can pass 
 
THE PRIMA R Y LA WS OF PERCEPTION. 8i 
 
 from love of tlie Divine into aversion to the Godlike, 
 and still enjoy the love of the Divine, In fine, we 
 cannot realise the possibility of man passing from a 
 conscious oneness of life with God into the realisation 
 of the evils of a fallen state, and still retaining com- 
 munion with God. 
 
 Moreover, just as we are unable to believe that the 
 human body can be in a state of sickness without 
 experiencing more or less of the prostration which 
 disease invariably entails, as the human mind cannot 
 be in a condition of ignorance and error without more 
 or less partaking the perplexity that inevitably flows 
 from ignorance and error — so we are unable to believe 
 that the human spirit can be conscious of wickedness 
 without realising more or less of the upbraidings of 
 conscience. In other words, we are unable to believe 
 that a human being can be in contrary states at one 
 and the same moment — a human body at once in a 
 state of sickness and of perfect health — a human 
 mind at once in a condition of ignorance and of clear 
 perception of law and duty — a human heart at once 
 ardently loving and bitterly hating the same being, 
 principles, and ends of life — in short, that a human 
 soul can at one and the same time be spiritually dead 
 and alive. And why is this ? surely it is because the 
 law of human thinking, the principles of the Divine 
 administration, and the nature of things, compel us 
 to it — we feel the impossibility of its being otherwise. 
 
 We know that man can pass from one condition to 
 another — the body from a condition of health to a 
 state of sickness, the mind from a condition of dis- 
 
82 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 ccrnment to a state of prejudice, and the spirit from 
 the consciousness of tlie rectitude of its doinirs to the 
 conviction of the wronirfuhiess of its deeds, or the 
 converse. But we cannot believe that a man can be 
 in both these contrary states at one and the same 
 time, or that he can be in either state without pos- 
 sessing tiie qualities of the state he is in, or tliat he 
 can realise the conditions of any state without being 
 in that state. 
 
 If, then, we find that humanity is destitute of the 
 qualities of a pure and holy life, and that man desires 
 and struggles after the benefits of a perfect condition 
 while manifesting the properties of a fallen and sinful 
 life, must we not in these circumstances come to tlie 
 conclusion that he has passed from the one state to 
 the other ? And the C[uestion, What is man's natural 
 or orioinal state? is a momentous one. With a view 
 to its solution w^e may point out the fact that his 
 judgments are not as correct as his instincts, his 
 dispositions and desire's are not what his reason 
 approves of ; nor are his deeds worthy of his powers, 
 means, and opportunities. His views of being, life, 
 and destiny, are not clear and cloudless ; nor are his 
 supreme affections Godward. He does not rest in 
 the love of God, nor is he supremely desirous of being 
 conformed in life to the Father of his spirit. His 
 conscience often condemns him. He has miso-ivino-s 
 about the future, and dread of retriljution. We may 
 well ask, what are the ideas of God which idolatry in 
 man has evolved, the ideas which infidelity, ration- 
 alism, and speculation, have sketched ? Why are men 
 
THE PRIMAR Y LA WS OF PERCEPTION. ^2> 
 
 ever striving to bring the teacliings of revelation into 
 conformity with their likings, instead of their con- 
 ceptions into agreement with the teachings of a jDnre 
 and holy faith ? These facts, w^e think, indicate that 
 man is in a fallen condition. How, or by what ^^ar- 
 ticular influence, instrument, or agency, a spirit passes 
 from one state into its opposite, belongs to a region of 
 inquiry which is little known to us, and in its higher 
 domain is far out of sii^ht. In the belief of the 
 possibility of such a transition, there is involved no 
 absurdity or contradiction. The acquaintance with, 
 or realisation of, the results of such a transition is 
 near to us, at our very door — it lies in our deepest 
 consciousness. 
 
 There is, then, in man a necessary law of belief, a 
 conditioned form of thinking. He must, when the 
 matter is brought under his notice, believe in an 
 immutable and eternal distinction of thinixs. He 
 is shut up to such a belief by the constitution of 
 his mind ; and do what he will, he cannot escape 
 from this law of thinking. He must believe that 
 the state and the qualities of the state are inseparable, 
 and that, if a man passes from one state to another, 
 he must lose the qualities of the one and acquire those 
 of the other. 
 
(84 ) 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 PRINCIPLES OF THE DIVINE ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 God reigns over a threefold kingdom by a duality of 
 law. His Sceptre is twofold in its sway. His reign, 
 is perfect and universal. The principle of duality 
 pervades the entire administration of the Most High. 
 By a twofold force God governs His universe. By 
 force, negative and positive, attractive and repulsive, 
 centripetal and centrifugal, God governs the ma- 
 terial universe. By truth and error, by knowledge 
 and ignorance, by conviction and doubt, God rules 
 over the universe of mind. By love and hatred, by 
 desire and aversion, by consciousness of right and 
 conviction of wrong, God reigns over the universe of 
 spirit. 
 
 No existence can escape the control of God. No 
 heavenly body, however erratic, can wander beyond 
 the limits of space, or escape from the influence of the 
 law of attraction or repulsion ; fly where it may, it 
 must always move in space, and under the influence 
 of its primary laws. And as the planet is ensphered 
 in space, so is the finite embosomed in tlie Infinite. 
 
 The harmonious operation of this twofold law 
 
THE DIVINE ADMINISTRATION. 85 
 
 preserves tlie beauty, order, and progress of the 
 material universe. The increment of one power over 
 another causes disturbance and ofttimes dissolution of 
 the several parts, but not the annihilation of any one 
 of the elemental poAvers. The storm may rage, the 
 elements may battle, mountain chains may be dislo- 
 cated or upheaved, individuals may die and families 
 perish, yet in earth's greatest natural strife, and in 
 times of most sweeping devastations, not one atom of 
 matter perishes, nor alters in the least in its essential 
 nature. Mind, however capricious, cannot surmount 
 the sphere of intellect and escape the region of 
 tliouo;ht. It cannot divest itself of the influence of 
 truth and error, of knowledge and ignorance. It 
 must move in lioht or in darkness. If mind moves or 
 
 O 
 
 thinks at all, it can only do so under the influence 
 of the true or the false. The movements of mind 
 under the influence of truth are harmonious and satis- 
 fying, its movements under the influence of error are 
 disunitino- and distressing^ ; and its movements 
 under the contending influence of truth and error are 
 conflictive in the direction and degree of the prevailing 
 power of the movement. 
 
 In the struggles of mind with truth and error, in 
 the descent of mind under the bondage of falsehood, 
 there is no distinction of its intellectual constitution 
 nor annihilation of its individuality. Mind, even in 
 its degraded condition, still remains the sphere of 
 thought, the only difference being, that it has become 
 the arena of struggle and conflict, the subject of con- 
 tending ideas. 
 
86 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 Spirit, again, liowever rebellious, cannot escape the 
 domain of consciousness ; it cannot divest itself of 
 tlie influeiiC3 of love and Late, of the consciousness 
 of the rio-htfulness or the wroni^fulness of its deeds, of 
 satisfaction or dissatisfaction with its condition of 
 existence. The movements of Spirit under the power 
 of the love of the Divine are elevating and joyous, 
 its movements under the hatred of the true are de- 
 grading and tormenting. The consciousness of the 
 rectitude of our doings is the realisation of strength 
 and delight to the Spirit. The consciousness of the 
 wrongfulness of our deeds is the realisation of weak- 
 ness and v/oe to the Spirit. Do what it may, Spirit 
 must exist in a state of love or hate, or under their 
 contending influence. Exert itself as it may, it 
 cannot escape the conditions and obligations of its 
 endless existence. 
 
 Every atom, then, that moves must move under the 
 law of attraction or repulsion. Every mind that 
 thinks must think under the sway of truth or error. 
 Every spirit that acts must act under the influence of 
 love or hatred, must realise the consciousness of the 
 rightfulness of its doings, or the wrongfulness of its 
 deeds, or be tossed between their contending sway. 
 These we hold to be the eternal laws of finite exist- 
 ence. In one or other of these states, the spirit 
 of man must ever exist, and liy no possibility can it 
 escape this necessity of its being. In the harmonious 
 operations of their principles, peace continues, vigour 
 rules, and bliss is realised. In the opposition or 
 contention of these principles conflict prevails, weak- 
 
THE DIVINE ADMINISTRATION. 87 
 
 ness arises, suffeumo- is felt, and deo-radation is 
 secured. 
 
 We sometimes speak of states of indifference, and 
 matter, mind, and spirit, may for the moment be so 
 poised as to appear to be under the control of neither 
 of their opposing influences, but for the time being 
 they are equally under the sway of both. The 
 equilibrium, however, can only be of brief duration. 
 The one or the other must ultimately triumph. As a 
 matter of course, we do not here speak of states, the 
 normal condition of which is that of equilibrium. 
 
 The principles by which God governs His loyal 
 subjects, the manifestations by which He dwells in 
 and holds fellowship with His obedient children, are 
 love, truth, and the consciousness of the rectitude of 
 being and life. The powers by which He reigns over 
 His rebellious subjects and governs His disobedient 
 offspring are enmity, error, and the consciousness 
 of the wronofuluess of their beino; and doine: ; He 
 thus dwells in the consciousness, and rules over the 
 life of His faithful children, while He dwells outside 
 of the consciousness and rules over the life of His 
 rebellious offspring. 
 
 Man must exist and realise within the sphere of 
 truth or error, love or hatred, consciousness of the 
 rio^htfuluess of His cloino;s or the wrono^fulness of His 
 deeds. He may abandon the light of the true, and 
 fall from the love of the Divine ; he may deprive him- 
 self of the consciousness of the rectitude of his doing's 
 and betake himself to a life of ungodliness, but escape 
 from any pair of these correlated conditions at one and 
 
88 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 the same time he cannot. He must, if he exist at 
 all, exist either in the consciousness of the one or the 
 other, or partly in the one and partly in the other. 
 In the one condition his heavenly Father smiles upon 
 him and blesses him, and imparts to him a sense of 
 His favour and presence. In the other God frowns 
 upon the sinner, and inflicts the penalty of His law 
 upon the transgressor, removing him to a distance 
 from Himself. 
 
 Love is an attracting principle of life ; it unites the 
 soul in which it reigns to whatever is beautiful, or is 
 conceived to be beautiful, in being and blissful in 
 life. Love of truth draws ns truth ward, and leads 
 us to the investio-ation of the true. Love of what is 
 purely imaginary, delusive, and false, leads to a belief 
 in what is fictitious, and produces a strong tendency 
 towards it. In like manner love of the Divine draws 
 us Godward and assimilates us to the Holy, and love 
 of the false and evil draws us towards the evil one, 
 and ends in the de2;radation of ruin and life and beine:. 
 
 Enmity is a repelling j^rincij^le. We are averse to 
 what we dislike. Dislike of the true and aversion to 
 the Holy removes to a distance from the elevating 
 influence of the Divine. So also the dislike of the 
 illusive, a hatred of the false, keeps us at a distance 
 from the imaginary, false, and misleading. Enmity 
 is a tormenting power. In the presence of what we 
 hate we are disturbed and pained in the degree of the 
 intensity of our hatred. 
 
 We do not love the evil and the false because they 
 arc evil and false, i.e., under the belief that they 
 
THE DIVINE ADMINISTRATION. 89 
 
 are evil and false. Neither do we hate the true and 
 shun the good because they are true and good, i.e., 
 under the belief that they arc true and good, but 
 because at the moment we are under the impression 
 that the true is not true, and the good is not good, 
 and that the evil and false are not evil and false. 
 Man seeks not evil for its own sake. The avaricious 
 and selfish seek benefit, distinction, &c., for their 
 own sake ; and these things are good in themselves. 
 It is not the exercise of power in the pursuit of these, 
 but the wrong use or perversion of power in the 
 obtaining of such, that is evil. It is when the 
 motives, j^i'iiiciples, and ends, are not what they 
 ought to be, that wrong is done in the pursuit of 
 these things. AVhcn the motive is not obedience 
 to the will of God but preference of personal will, 
 when the end is not general good but self-gratifica- 
 tion, evil and not good is the result. 
 
 But gratification, benefit, &c., are not in them- 
 selves evil, but good. Again, the true and good are 
 not disliked for their own sakes, but because the true 
 often pains us by revealing to us what we dislike, and 
 the good by rec[uiring of us at times an amount 
 of self-denial we are disinclined to, are imagined to 
 be evil. Thus light and medicine are not disliked in 
 themselves, but because of the pain which they at 
 times subject us to. Light is not looked upon as evil 
 in itself, but is felt to be so, and shunned by the 
 diseased eye. Medicine is not thought to be an evil 
 in itself, but because of its bitterness it is disliked 
 by the sick. 
 
90 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 In afFording us tlie love of the godlike, God comes 
 into us and dwells in us in the measure in which we 
 cherish this love ; and we, in cherishing this love, 
 rise into the fellowship of the Divine, and draw near 
 to God in the vision of His glory. " He that dwelleth 
 in love dwelleth in God, and God in him," In G^ivinc: 
 us up to the dislike of the true, God abandons us to 
 the power of evil ; and we, in cherishing dislike to the 
 ixodlike, descend into the conflict of darkness and woe. 
 '' We have loved strangers, and after them will we go." 
 " The w^ay of the transgressor is hard." 
 
 Truth is that which reveals God, and manifests the 
 Divine. It is that in which the Divine comes down 
 to the human, and in which the Infinite reveals Him- 
 self to the finite. Truth is that by which the finite 
 ascends into the presence of the Infinite, and holds 
 fellowship with the Divine. The Infinite, by means 
 of truth, condescends to the finite, and, through the 
 apprehension of truth, the finite ascends to the Infin- 
 ite. In the revelation of the true, the Infinite comes 
 within the apprehension of the finite. In the belief 
 of the true, the finite rises to the embrace of the 
 Infinite, to the delight and enjoyment of the Divine. 
 They wdio live in the love and belief of the true, 
 dwell in the light of God's countenance. 
 
 Error is that which presents the false to the mind 
 in the semblance of the true, the form in the place of 
 the substance, the shadow instead of the reality of 
 being. Error is that which the fancy and imagina- 
 tion, instead of the senses and perception, present to 
 the mind. In the belief of error, the subjective of 
 
THE DIVINE ADMINISTRATION. 91 
 
 tlie individual believing separates itself from and 
 becomes unlike to the objective real. The subjective 
 percejDtion of the believer in error is of the objective 
 imaginary, and not of the objective real. In the 
 belief of the false the objective unreal becomes to the 
 believer in the false the subjective real. In the belief 
 of the false the mind of the believer enters into union 
 with, and becomes moulded by, the false. And thus, 
 while an idol is nothing in the realities of being, it 
 is a terrible reality in the imagination of the idolater. 
 The consciousness of the rectitude of our doino- is a 
 strengthening realisation in the sou]. In bestowing 
 this consciousness upon us, God manifests to us His 
 admiration of our obedience, comes into us with the 
 reward of His presence, and gives us to realise a pure 
 and elevating joy. The consciousness of the wrong- 
 fulness of our deeds is a weakening power in the 
 soul. In the consciousness of the wrono-fulness of 
 our deeds we are restless and helpless ; we struggle 
 in vain to escape from the consciousness in which 
 God gives us a sense of His displeasure with our 
 life, while He inflicts upon us the reward of our 
 transgression, and causes us to realise the penalty 
 of His law. 
 
 These are eternal principles by which God reigns 
 in and rules over the life and being of man ; princij^les 
 which He never has and never will in the least alter 
 or annul ; and every attempt to alter them, or to 
 efface the consciousness of them from the life while 
 necessarily living under their power, is the highest of 
 all a,bsurdity. 
 
92 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 In creating man a rational being, God Las made 
 liim capable of union and communion with Himself, 
 through the medium of love, truth, and the conscious- 
 ness of the rectitude of his being. And in the mani- 
 festation of Himself in the revelation of the true, God 
 comes to man and invites him to enter into fellowship 
 with Himself. And, in the faith of the true, He has 
 ordained that we shall realise this fellowship. 
 
 These considerations throw liglit on the present 
 condition of man. They show the folly of his endea- 
 vour to satisfy himself with the seen and temporal, 
 show the necessity of a revelation from God and of 
 man's giving implicit attention to whatever God 
 reveals to him, if he is to attain to wellbeino-. It is 
 clear to every observant eye that man is neither in a 
 condition of hopeless despair, nor of perfect bliss. 
 While selfish and opposed to God as the creature, 
 he is generous and self-denying as the parent, child, 
 and relative ; wliile frequently perplexed and utterly 
 unable to rescue himself from evil, he is capable of 
 comprehending much of his real condition, and 
 anxious to escape from it. And all this is accounted 
 for, on the principle that he is the subject of right 
 and wrong motives, principles, and ends of action — 
 of love and enmity, of truth and error, and that God 
 is dealing with him so as to let him know somethinn- 
 of the bitterness of evil, and to lead him through the 
 love of the Divine, the knowledge of the true, and 
 the consciousness of the rectitude of his beinir, into 
 the pure bliss of fellowship with Himself. 
 
 The sum, then, of what we have said on the princi- 
 
THE DIVINE ADMINISTRATION. 93 
 
 pies of the Divine government may be tlius briefly 
 expressed. God gives bliss to the heart of man 
 through means of love, and He gives this bliss in 
 accordance with the nature of the object, and in the 
 measure of the intensity of the love. 
 
 God gives pain to the heart of man through means 
 of the emotions of hatred ; and He does so in accord- 
 ance with the nature of the object of the enmity, and 
 in the measure of the intensity of the hatred. 
 
 God gives power, vigour, enjoyment to the mind of 
 man in and through means of the belief of the true ; 
 and He docs so in accordance with the nature of the 
 truth, and the streno:tli of the faith of him believino- it, 
 
 God gives perplexity and distraction of mind to 
 man in and throuo-h io-norancc of truth and belief in 
 error ; and He does so, in accordance with the nature 
 of the truth of which man is ignorant, and the char- 
 acter of the erroneous belief which he entertains. He 
 gives light and energy in the measure of our know- 
 ledge, and in accordance with the nature of its 
 objects. 
 
 God gives joy and energy to the spirit of man, in 
 and through means of the consciousness of the rec- 
 titude of his life ; and He gives, and ever will give, 
 anguish and dread and weakness to the soul of man, 
 in the consciousness of the wrongfulness of his deeds. 
 
 And, finally, these facts of human experience throw 
 light on the present condition of man. They prove 
 that man is neither in a condition of perdition nor of 
 bliss, but in what may be regarded as an intermediate 
 state of probation. 
 
(94) 
 
 CHAPTER YL 
 
 COMBINATION OR CAUSATION. 
 
 Causation, as distinguislied from creation, denotes 
 combination and change. Creation proper, is the 
 bringing into being wliat previously had no existence. 
 Causation, is the bringing ah'eady existing substances 
 into new combinations, and thus leading to new 
 results. Creation belongs to, and is only in the power 
 of, the Infinite. Causation belongs to, and is in the 
 power of, the finite as well as of the Infinite. No 
 limit can be set to Creation but the will of the 
 Creator. No limit can be set to combination but the 
 ingenuity, skill, power, and intention of the combiner. 
 Qualities are susceptible of being brought into endless 
 varieties of relations of harmony and discord. In the 
 combinations of harmony there is scope for the display 
 of power, wisdom, and goodness. In the combinations 
 of discord there is scope for the manifestations of 
 mistaken conception, of evil disposition, and malig- 
 nant design. 
 
 Atoms, lines, colours, sounds, and substances, arc 
 capable of being brought into endless combinations of 
 form and relation in the mechanical operations of 
 nature and art. Words in the power of genius arc 
 susceptible of indefinite combination in language ; 
 
CO MB IN A TION OR CA USA TIOJV. 9 5 
 
 and dispositions, ideas, intellects, and spirits, may be 
 combined into numerous relations in the activities 
 and conscious realisations of life. In combination 
 there may be the apparent, but not the real, distinc- 
 tion of 230wer. A power may be suspended or held 
 in abeyance, while the substance in which the power 
 resides is placed in an altered relation, but the sub- 
 stance has only to be restored to its former condition 
 in order to show that the power is there just as 
 before. This fact has been demonstrated, and is 
 expressed in the general formula, "the conservation 
 of force." 
 
 Atoms, minds, and spirits, are necessarily created 
 with primary properties, and the suscej^tibility of 
 combination enters into the very nature of these pro- 
 perties. In bringing about a new result, there is 
 nothino; more than the formino^ of new combinations. 
 Thus, a new machine is invented, and what is there 
 in this invention but the perception, on the part of 
 the inventor, of how certain results may be produced 
 by a new combination of powers. A law of nature is 
 discovered, and what is there in this discovery but 
 the perception by the discoverer of how certain powers 
 of nature may be brought to act in a given combina- 
 tion with a determinate result. It is by means of 
 combination that the different properties and sus- 
 ceptibilities of being, in the course of their develop- 
 ment, become known to finite mind. The hiaher laws 
 of being hold the inferior in check, and direct their 
 action. As a well-known illustration of this, we may 
 point to the fact that the presence of life, or the 
 
96 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 restraint of its power on the action of the chemical 
 laws of matter in the body, prevents the decomposition 
 of the human frame. 
 
 The laws of nature are nothing else than the invari- 
 able operation of qualities in any given combination. 
 Thus when certain chemical powers are brought into 
 a particular combination, they act or operate in a 
 particular manner, and produce a particular result, 
 and however often the very same powers are brought 
 into the exact same combination, they operate in the 
 exact same manner, and produce the exact same 
 results. And so of mechanical and vital powers. The 
 invariable laws of nature are nothing else than the 
 invariable requirement or obligation of the properties 
 of beino- in invariable combination. General laws are 
 the requirement of properties in general combination, 
 and particular laws are the requirement of properties 
 in particular combination. Alter the combination 
 however little, and to that extent you alter the re- 
 (juirement, and consequently the operation of the 
 properties in combination, and thus bring about a 
 different result by making a difference in the com- 
 bination. And the reason why one machine acts so 
 differently from another, is simply due to the fact 
 that the combination of forces which constitutes the 
 one is different from that which constitutes the other. 
 And this principle applies to all combination of forces, 
 whether chemical, mechanical, or vital. 
 
 If, then, but one atom had been created, and 
 if it had possessed but one property, it must have 
 remained for ever in the same condition. But as 
 
COMBINATION OR CAUSATION. 97 
 
 numerous atoms have been created with the power of 
 influencing and being influenced, these atoms, as 
 a matter of course, will act on one another in accord- 
 ance with the manner in which they are combined ; 
 and their o^^erations in the diff"erent combinations 
 into which they are brought will lead to the develop- 
 ment of their powers, susce^Dtibilities, and possibilities : 
 and this holds good of the whole realm of nature. 
 The letters of the aljDhabet are capable of being formed 
 in all but endless combination, but they cannot of 
 themselves go into combination. They can only be 
 placed in combination by an agency external to 
 themselves. One letter taken from, or added to, a 
 syllable, remains the same, but the syllable is altered. 
 One syllable taken from, or added to, a word, remains 
 the same, but the word is altered. One word taken 
 from, or added to, a paragraph, remains the same, but 
 the paragraph is altered. One chapter taken from, or 
 added to, a volume, remains the same, but the volume 
 is altered. And so of all combination of any sort 
 whatsoever. And things added to, or taken from, a 
 combination, will afi'ect the character and result of 
 that combination, while, in themselves, the constitu- 
 ent elements remain the same. This is strikingly seen 
 in the case of numerals or fio;ures. If one or two 
 figures be added to, or taken from, a line of figures, it 
 greatly increases or diminishes the amount indicated. 
 It is thus that by changing the number and relation 
 of elements, properties, and powers in combination, 
 we bring about widely difi'erent results. 
 
 The combination of one property with another may 
 
 G 
 
98 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 aid, restrain, or neutralise the operation of another 
 property, or bring into being a ne^Y property alto- 
 gether ; but the combination cannot destroy or anni- 
 hilate the original property, or act upon it contrary 
 to its susceptibility of being acted upon. The aid, 
 restraint, or neutralisation takes place not through 
 means of violence done to the powers or suscepti- 
 bilities of the bodies combined, but in perfect accord- 
 ance with their nature or capacity for being so 
 influenced. And as in the combination of matter, 
 so in the combination of mind and spirit in indi- 
 vidual and social life. Individuals, with equals, or 
 with those of a higher order of life, may be so com- 
 bined together as by their co-operation to secure a 
 given result ; but in this combination they influence 
 one another in such a manner, that their free agency 
 is not interfered Avith or in any way injured, but 
 preserved intact. Particular results are secured 
 through means of the presence or absence of jDarti- 
 cular agencies. Matter may be brought into com- 
 bination, and thus made to 02:>erate ; but not sp>irit 
 in its normal condition ; it mny be led into com- 
 ■ bination, but cannot in the combination be compelled 
 to act, or to act in any one particular way. It is 
 essentially free and endowed with power over its own 
 action. It can enter into combination with hifrher, 
 equal, or inferior powers, and by its presence afiect 
 the result ; but in its influencing the operation of the 
 combined forces by its aid or hindrance, it acts in the 
 unfettered freedom of its nature. 
 
 Matter is cap>able of indefinite combination in 
 
COMBINATION OR CAUSATION 99 
 
 chemical, meclianical, or vital relations; it develops 
 its jDOwers and capabilities, but into all its combina- 
 tions it mnst be brought — it cannot of itself form 
 any new combination ; whereas spirit can and often 
 does so. Matter may be combined so as to form a 
 globe or a planetary system with its appropriate 
 mechanism. Atoms may be combiued with vitality so 
 as to produce a vegetable kingdom, or they may be so 
 combiued with vitality as to produce an animal king- 
 dom ; and matter, mind, and spirit may be so combined 
 as to produce a world ; but in all this there is nothing- 
 more than combination, a display of skill in combining 
 the primary properties of created substances, a weav- 
 ing of the higher threads of spirit and mind into the 
 woof of matter. The whole of the rich variety which 
 we see in creation is simply due to the skill shown 
 in combining the different elementary substances of 
 beinjT. One creature differs from another in a differ- 
 ence of constitution, and, consequently, of life ; and 
 this difference of constitution and life is merely a 
 difference of combination in its formation and life. 
 
 The simpler forms of vitality, as in vegetable and 
 in animal existence, possess the power of construction 
 or of non-discretionary combination. Their germs 
 appropriate the nourishment on which they feed, 
 and, by so doing, construct a vegetable or an animal, 
 as they develop the mechanism or constitution of 
 the seed or embryo in w^hich they inhere. But a 
 higher power of combination belongs to rational or 
 spiritual agency ; personality is endowed with the 
 power of discretionary combination. An individual 
 
100 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 can select tlie elements lie combines with tlie percep- 
 tion of their suitability or imsuitability for this or 
 that combination. One individual combines certain 
 sounds or notes in music, and is the author of an air, 
 or tune ; another individual combines colours in a 
 particular manner, and becomes an artist, the author 
 of a celebrated painting or admired design ; another 
 combines straight lines and curves, and sketches the 
 plan of an edifice, and is thus an architect ; another 
 combines certain ideas, and becomes the author of a 
 book in literature, science, or philosophy. These 
 individuals claim to be the authors of their several 
 productions, and are fully entitled to the merit of 
 the claim ; and so an individual, in the development 
 of his personality, combines particular motives and 
 volitions with certain ideas and dispositions, and 
 thus he becomes the author of his actions, the framer 
 of his character. 
 
 Airents act in the order of co-ordination and of 
 subordination as soldiers in an army, and in this 
 manner order is preserved in the movements of the 
 army and in the achievements of war. There is a 
 subordination of ranks as well as a co-ordination of 
 airents. And, ascendino^ from the lowest to the 
 hiefhest a2:ent throu2;h the different orders of subor- 
 dination, we at length arrive at a Supreme Agent 
 who acts of Himself, and over whom there can be no 
 superior. This Suj^reme Agent being over all, can 
 form any combination of agents, powers, substances. 
 He pleases, and thus secure any result He chooses ; 
 He can be under no law but His own will as moved 
 
CO MB IN A TION OR CA USA TION. i o i 
 
 by His own nature. If His power and resources are 
 infinite, He can create and combine, re-create and 
 re-combine as He pleases. And in tliis He can 
 advance from the simj^lest to the most intricate and 
 complex of combinations, and thus produce the 
 simplest or most complicate results, none jDossessed 
 of right or daring to say, What dost Thou. 
 
 What, then, is the bearing of these facts on the 
 doctrine of general and immutable law ? To answer 
 this question we must inquire, What is general 
 and immutable law ? And for the answer we must 
 again inquire, What is law ? Law, as we have already 
 defined it, is requirement or obligation. And this 
 obligation arises out of the nature of the subject of 
 law. Thus an atom of matter possesses the power of 
 acting, and the susceptibility of being acted on by 
 another particle. If the atoms remain alone, these 
 properties remain latent, but if they be brought near 
 to one another, then the one atom will attract or 
 repel the other; and will do so in accordance with 
 their inherent power and susceptibility. When the 
 loadstone is remote from the steel its powers are 
 latent, but whenever it is brought into contiguity 
 with steel, then arises a requirement or obligation of 
 its powers to attract the steel, and this requirement or 
 obligation arises out of the nature and relation of the 
 loadstone to the steel And so of more complex nature 
 and relations. 
 
 We speak of chemical, mechanical, vital, intellectual, 
 and spiritual law, also of human and divine law, and 
 in every case law denotes requirement or obligation, 
 
102 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 arising out of tlic nature, the constitution, and tlie 
 relation of the subject or subjects of the particular 
 law. We cannot conceive of an absolute simplicity of 
 substance, i.e., in the actual existence of substance or 
 essence without any quality. Do what we may, we 
 cannot believe in matter without form, or in the exist- 
 ence of spirit without activity. We cannot conceive 
 of the existence of one particle of matter devoid 
 of both substance and force. If matter had no power 
 of attraction and repulsion, its particles would not 
 unite with nor act on one another, but would remain 
 without motion or adliesion as they were brought to- 
 gether. But if matter be possessed of these properties, 
 not to speak of others, if it be essential to matter 
 even in its simplest condition that its particles attract 
 and repel each other, then when they are brought 
 together they must act on one another, and they 
 must do so in accordance with the relations under 
 which they meet. And thus it will be seen that the 
 law of action arises out of the nature of the combina- 
 tion, and the relation of the subject of law. By 
 combination of particles, of properties, of natures, we 
 bring law in its simple or complex forms into opera- 
 tion. Thus, when we combine colour of one shade, 
 the particles will unite and produce a more consistent 
 body of colour, or an intenser hue ; and if we combine 
 particles of different shades of colour, they will unite 
 and produce a shade of colour exactly in accordance 
 with their proportion, i.e., in accordance with their 
 nature and relation to one another. If substances of 
 a cohesive nature be brought together, they will unite, 
 
COMBINATION OR CAUSATION. 103 
 
 and the result of their union will be in accordance 
 with their nature and relation in combination. And 
 if substances of repulsive properties be brought to- 
 gether, the result of the combination will be different, 
 but at the same time in accordance with the nature 
 and relation of the properties and substances in com- 
 bination. 
 
 If a seed still vital be placed in nutritious soil, and 
 moistened by the dew or rain of heaven, and warmed 
 with the heat of the sun, in other words, if its 
 vitality be combined with other productive powers, it 
 wdll grow and produce a plant in accordance with its 
 kind. If a seed of another species or genus of plants 
 be placed in like circumstances, it will grow into a 
 plant of a different kind ; and if the same description 
 of seed be placed in different descriptions of soils, 
 in different climates, while producing the same kind 
 of plants they will do so in different forms of vigour 
 and size. And why ? simply because of different 
 temperatures of climate, and different descriptions of 
 soil, in other words, a different combination of circum- 
 stances. If eggs of viirious S]3ecies be placed under 
 proper heat, they will be hatched each after its own 
 kind. If animals of the same species be brought to- 
 gether to produce, they will bring forth after their 
 own kind ; if a male and a female of different species 
 propagate, they will bring forth an offspring different 
 from either species to which they belong. And it 
 will be seen in all this that the result is after the 
 nature of the combination. In like manner if a 
 life be lived, whether that life be animal merely, 
 
104 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 or rational and spiritual, it must in all cases be 
 manifested aecordino^ to its nature and circum- 
 stances. 
 
 The finite cannot produce or create substance, or 
 impart to substance primary qualities or original 
 powers ; but finite agency can combine cliemical, 
 mechanical, and vital substances, and thus bring forth 
 certain results ; and who can set limits to the skill 
 or originality of man in forming combinations. Now, 
 if this be so, who will, a fortiori, presume to assign 
 limits to the Creator's skill and power to create and 
 combine, to form and produce, or who will show that 
 God (not to speak of creating) cannot, in combining, 
 so contrive as to produce any result He chooses, 
 and produce that result in entire accordance with 
 the nature, constitution, and relations of the sub- 
 stances He brings into combination. Does He not 
 ever act in accordance with the beini^ or law of 
 operation, either particular or general, of the sub- 
 stances, or agents He emj^loys ? God surely is not 
 fettered in His doings by any operation of law. Is 
 it not more philosophic to regard Him as guiding 
 law, and throu^-h means of law itself workino; out 
 His own gracious ends, than to look upon Him as 
 fettered in His doings by any law of nature ? 
 
 There can be no other notion of general, immutable 
 law than the idea that the same agencies, in the same 
 combination, Avill ever produce the same results ; and 
 if brought into other combinations, will produce other 
 results. This is the true conception of invariable 
 law ; and in passing we may say, that it can in no 
 
CO MB IN A TION OR CA USA TION. 105 
 
 way militate against the true doctrine of miracles ; 
 for a miracle is nothing but a new combination of 
 existing elements, or the creation of a new element, 
 and causing it to enter in and operate along with 
 already existing elements in a new combination. And 
 God can at any time do this as the Supreme Agent. 
 He can at any moment form any combination of 
 existing elements, create a new element, and combine 
 it with already existing elements, or reveal Himself 
 in a new form of manifestation to whomsoever He 
 will. No theist can refuse to acknowledge the power 
 of God in any of these forms ; and, as it appears to 
 us, no correct apprehension of the doctrine of theism 
 can stand in the way of the belief in miracles. 
 
( io6) 
 
 CHAPTER Vir. 
 
 THE POWER OF CHOICE. 
 
 God lias placed man amid endless motives to action, 
 and lias given to liim the power of clioice in reference 
 to objects of affection, of tliouglit, of manner, and of 
 life, and holds him responsible for the choice he makes 
 in reference to these. God has given to man the 
 option of whether he will live in the love of the 
 Divine, or in the love of the selfish ; whether he will 
 think in the light of the true, or in the obscurity of 
 the false ; whether he will act in the consciousness of 
 the rectitude of his doings, or in the conviction of the 
 wrongfulness of his deeds. That man possesses the 
 power of clioice in regard to the manner of his life, 
 i.e., in reference to his dispositions and motives, an 
 appeal to the consciousness of mankind is at any 
 moment sufficient to prove. 
 
 Let us therefore inquire what consciousness has to 
 say in regard to the matter. When, for example, we 
 ask an individual to make a choice in reference to any 
 matter, we do so in the full conviction that he has 
 the power to make that choice, and that he- is not 
 attracted to the object we present, nor repelled from 
 it, as is the north pole of one magnet attracted to the 
 
THE POWER OF CHOICE. 107 
 
 soutli pole of another magnet, and repelled from the 
 similar pole. On the contrary, we ask him to make 
 the choice in the conviction that, back and behind 
 all the elements which operate on the man in influ- 
 encing him to the choice of the particular object, the 
 power of finally determining lies with himself. Con- 
 sciousness ever persistently declares that choice is a 
 personal act, and this view of the case is that by 
 which all mankind regulates the affairs of daily life. 
 
 On the other hand, what is the consciousness of the 
 chooser in making the choice ? Not, surely, that he 
 is blindly hurried into the choice, but that he can 
 choose at once, or delay with a view to the considera- 
 tion of the choice. He can deliberate on the con- 
 sequences of choosing this or that object, or of 
 not choosing at all, and then choose or not choose. 
 He is conscious of a power by which he can place 
 different objects before his mind, examine them 
 minutely, weigh their different qualities, and weigh 
 what will be the result of choosing or not choosing, 
 or of preferring one object to another. He is at times 
 conscious of a sense of duty drawing him one way, 
 and a desire of gratification inclining him in another ; 
 he is also conscious that sometimes he chooses on the 
 side of conviction of duty, and that at other times he 
 chooses on the side of gratification, and in the face of 
 the doubt of its being right ; in fact, in spite of a 
 strong feeling that it is wrong for him to choose as he 
 does. He is conscious in all the choices he makes, 
 that, back and behind all the influences acting on him, 
 he is possessed of a self-determinating power of will, 
 
io8 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 aud tliat tlie determination or choice in tlie matter is 
 really his own. 
 
 And ^Yhat is a man's reflection on the choice he has 
 made ? If he made the choice in the conviction that 
 it \vas right in him to make it, and if the result of the 
 choice proves advantageous, he realises a pure satis- 
 faction in the consciousness that he made that choice 
 and not another ; he feels that the satisfaction of 
 having made the choice is really and truly his own, 
 that he is fully entitled to entertain the satisfaction 
 that he would not only do himself an injustice, hut 
 would act inconsistent with the principles of eternal 
 right were he to discard the satisfaction. If, however, 
 he is conscious of liavine: made the choice from selfish 
 motives, from a desire for gratification in opposition 
 to his conviction of duty, then, however advantageous 
 its results may be, his satisfaction in the enjoyment 
 of these results is neither pure nor unalloyed ; a dis- 
 quietude interrupts the satisfaction, and poisons the 
 pleasure with which they are enjoyed. If, on the 
 other hand, the results of the choice should prove 
 disadvantageous, still, if the chooser is conscious that 
 .when he made the choice he acted from a sense of 
 duty, then will that conviction sustain him under the 
 pressure of its disadvantageous results. He will feel 
 stronc^ in the conviction that when he made the 
 choice he acted from a sense that it was rioht and 
 proper in him to do so. But if he is conscious of 
 having made the choice from wrong motives, and the 
 results of the choice prove baneful, then will he not 
 only realise these results to be bitter in themselves, 
 
THE POWER OF CHOICE. 109 
 
 "but tlie Litterness will be greatly intensified by tlie 
 consciousness that when he made the choice, he knew 
 that it was wrong in him to make it. And this feel- 
 ino- of self-condemnation in the consciousness of having 
 made the choice from wrong motives will repel every 
 attempt to persuade him that the choice was not 
 really his, that he could not help making the choice, 
 that behind his own will there was an influence which 
 necessitated the choice, and that while he was under 
 that influence he could not help making it. He will 
 not allow himself to take shelter under such a notion ; 
 conscience in such an hour will scorn such subterfuge, 
 and repel with indignation every such attempt to 
 silence her accusing voice. The man smarting under 
 her lash knows full well that the choice, in the strict 
 and proper sense, is his choice. Memory may for a 
 time allow the consciousness of the motive which led 
 to the choice to fall into oblivion, but the moment 
 the consciousness of the motive becomes vivid, the 
 personal consciousness will brook no denial of the 
 choice being really and truly the choice of the indi- 
 vidual himself. 
 
 And what is the judgment of mankind in regard to 
 the personality of choice ? In awarding praise to an 
 individual who, in pursuit of an illustrious career, has 
 performed noble deeds, do men admire and laud the 
 circumstances into which he has fallen, or the man's 
 display of skill and perseverance in these circum- 
 stances ? Do they look upon him as the mere fortu- 
 nate instrument of propitious influences, or do they 
 feel persuaded that he is not only an actor in, but the 
 
no TJIE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 author of Lis own successful career, that behind all 
 the propitious circumstances and influences, aiding 
 and abetting in the choice, he is the chooser of the 
 end, the selector of the means, and the active agent in 
 guiding these to their appropriate results. What they 
 admire is the man himself in his deeds, and what 
 they feel is that lie is entitled to the praise they 
 award to him. Again, in blaming an individual for 
 his wrong-doing, men do not feel persuaded that after 
 all he could not help doing what they blame him for 
 doing, they do not believe that he was only the pas- 
 sive instrument of influences he could neither avoid 
 nor control, nor do they in blaming such an one ex- 
 perience any misgiving about his deserving their 
 blame. 
 
 And let an individual, while censuring others, read 
 carefully his own inner conceptions and feelings, and 
 he wall soon perceive, whether he can, at the bar of 
 his conscience, vindicate his own wrong-doing on the 
 plea that he could not help himself, but had to yield 
 to the influences w^hicli were pressing on him at the 
 moment ; he will at once perceive that such an 
 attempt is a delusion which will not bear the light of 
 his own judgment. He will perceive that the judg- 
 ment that he passes upon others is the judgment he 
 must pass upon himself, for, when he reflects carefully 
 on what passes within himself, he will perceive that 
 the judgment which he passes on the conduct of 
 others is the dictate of his unbiassed reason — a dictate 
 which he must apply to his own case. 
 
 And what is the judgment of God as recorded in 
 
THE POWER OF CHOICE. iii 
 
 human experience regarding man's power of clioice ? 
 Do we not see that God has attached a sense of joy- 
 in the human heart to the consciousness of doing what 
 is felt to Le right, and a feeling of j^ain to the 
 consciousness of doing what is felt to be wrong ? 
 Now, why is this, unless it be that man has a per- 
 sonal power in the matter of choice ? It is a reward 
 bestowed upon the right choice, and a punishment 
 directed against the Avrong choice. If individuals are 
 the mere passive instruments of influences over 
 which they have no control, why has God placed in 
 them that fearful and indestructible voice of self- 
 condemnation ? Or why has He made them the 
 subjects of those repeated and unavailing efforts of 
 self- vindication in the heart of the transcfressor ? 
 
 O 
 
 The voice of self-condemnation is not the voice 
 of warning, neither is it the voice of timorous 
 restraint, but the voice which speaks to man 
 after his deed of transgression i§ done, is the 
 most dreadful of all voices in man. Its pangs 
 are the most prolonged and lacerating of which 
 man is the subject, and they are indestructible by 
 mere human effort. To us it seems incredible that 
 self-condemnation, remorse, and despair can fall to 
 the lot of man, w^ere it not that he is a free agent. If 
 man has not the power of choice in reference to 
 objects, his constitution is a lie. Divine government 
 is a fiction. Divine goodness a groundless fancy, 
 and the moral nature of man a contradiction and 
 absurdity. 
 
 Let us now proceed to inquire as to Avhether or not 
 
112 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 a man has the jDower of clioice in regard to ideas, 
 opinions, and beliefs. AVhen an individual endeavours 
 to alter tlie ideas, opinions, and beliefs of another, 
 what is the state of mind with which he makes the 
 attempt ? As is well known, he does not ajDproach 
 the person on whom he would operate, as the com- 
 positor sets about the correction of a proof-sheet, with 
 the feeling that the man is a mere passive instrument 
 or organ of the truth he brings to bear ujDon his 
 mind ; he does not address him with the conviction 
 in his own mind that the man must conform to 
 the truth which is set before him, and that he must 
 do so in the measure in which he lets the light of it 
 fall upon his understanding. On the contrary, he 
 addresses him with the conviction in his own mind 
 that, back of the evidence he brings to bear upon him, 
 his auditor possesses a power in himself through means 
 of which he deals with the truth and the evidence 
 placed before him. Every orator addressing an 
 assembly does so with the feeling that his hearers 
 can give or withhold their attention from what is 
 addressed to them ; that they can give their attention 
 divided or undivided, longer or shorter, and that 
 they can weigh the evidence advanced partially 
 or impartially, distractedly or calmty, and that they 
 can yield themselves up to or resist the risings of 
 conviction. It is well known that an individual can 
 institute an inquiry into a subject when urged upon 
 him by another, or when suggested by his own 
 reflection, and that he can prosecute this inquiry or 
 desist from, as his likings or dislikings urge or restrain 
 
THE POWER OF CHOICE. 113 
 
 liim. Now, why this fact of human experience, if a 
 man has not a j)ower over his beliefs ? And because it 
 is so, the public instructor not only endeavours to 
 enlighten the minds of his hearers, but also to persuade 
 their hearts. When we would alter the opinions of 
 others, we seek not merely to arrest their attention 
 and to enlighten their understandings, but we also 
 do what we can to move their wills ; and the very 
 effort we make to do so clearly shows that there is an 
 inherent conviction in man — that men possess a per- 
 sonal power over their ideas, opinions, and beliefs, 
 and that they stand to these in a very different 
 relation from that in which they stand to the colour 
 of their skin and the height of their stature. 
 
 Human consciousness, the judgment of mankind, 
 and God, in all that we know of Him, hold man 
 responsible for his belief Every man has within 
 him an indestructible conviction of possessing a 
 j)ower over his opinions, and a sense of responsibility 
 in reference to his beliefs. All men avow a readiness 
 to change their opinions whenever they are furnished 
 with a sufficient reason for so doing, and this avowal 
 clearly implies the conviction on their part of a power 
 in them to do so. As a matter of fact, all men are 
 very sensitive about the light in which their opinions 
 are regarded by others. They are ever ready to show 
 dissatisfaction when charged with holding unworthy 
 and erroneous opinions, and are prone to resent all 
 such charges. And why this displeasure and resent- 
 ment if men are not conscious of possessing a j^ower 
 over their beliefs ? An individual may wish to 
 
 H 
 
114 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 possess a different size of body or colour of skin, but 
 he is not conscious of possessing a power over tliem 
 as lie knows lie possesses over his opinions and beliefs. 
 If an individual's colour or size subjects him to dis- 
 advantage, he feels the defect ; but instead of expect- 
 ing blame on account of the defect, he is rather an 
 object of sympathy. But man does take shame to 
 himself when charged with unworthy beliefs. 
 
 How, then, are we to account for man's belief in the 
 possession of a power to alter his opinions when he 
 sees fit, or for his sense of shame when conscious of 
 clinging to unworthy sentiments. That such are 
 facts of human experience is beyond disj)ute, and 
 they can be accounted for only on the principle that 
 man is conscious of possessing a power over his 
 beliefs. If man be unable to alter his opinion wdien 
 the erroneous character of such is laid before him, 
 then there is no accounting for the consciousness in 
 him that he is able to do so. On this suj)position 
 man's consciousness deceives him ; and if conscious- 
 ness deceives man, he is the dupe of lies, and can 
 have no means of arrivincj at a knowlede^e of truth. 
 The universal sentiment of mankind holds man 
 responsible for his ideas, opinions, and beliefs. Men 
 do not only distinguish between opinions — disap- 
 proving of some and approving of others — and blame 
 individuals for adhering to one class, and praise them 
 for holding by another ; but they especially blame 
 men for clinging to opinions in the face of evidence 
 sufficient to convince them of the erroneous character 
 of the oj)inions they cling to. We all know what 
 
THE POWER OF CHOICE. 115 
 
 prejudice is, but prejudice is only possible on the 
 ground that men are possessed of a power over their 
 opinions. If a man has no power over his opinions 
 he cannot prejudice a case or hold to a sentiment in 
 the face of its refutation. The fact that men do 
 blame one another for prejudice and clinging to 
 refuted errors, is an irrefragable proof of the fact 
 that man is believed to possess a power over his 
 opinions. 
 
 This disapproval of individuals for clinging to 
 erroneous conceptions is grounded in the universal 
 consciousness of mankind. When individuals are 
 charged by others with entertaining false or 
 unworthy opinions, they do not lament that they are 
 altogether unable to alter them ; on the contrary, 
 they endeavour to show that their opinions are true 
 and honourable, and that it is because they are such 
 that they abide by them. If men are not pos- 
 sessed of a consciousness of power to alter their 
 opinions, when supplied with sufficient evidence of 
 their falsehood, they would not adopt this mode of 
 defence. If they were not possessed of power to 
 yield to evidence, mankind would blame the insuf- 
 ficiency of the evidence, instead of blaming the man 
 for his unworthiness. This would be the ro,tional 
 course to pursue, but men do not blame the evidence 
 for not convincing, they blame the individual for not 
 being convinced. 
 
 God holds men responsible for their ideas, opinions, 
 and beliefs. He treats with man throudi the medium 
 of, and in accordance with, his opinions, ideas, and 
 
ii6 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 beliefs. He conditions discernment, energy, and 
 enjoyment, also obscurity, vacillation, and suffering, 
 on a man's ideas, opinions, and beliefs. Through the 
 medium of individual belief God frowns or smiles on 
 man, confers His favours or withholds His gifts ; this 
 mode of dealing with men on the part of God is an 
 establishe4 fact in the experience of human life, 
 and it is a law written in every man's constitution. 
 To certain ideas, opinions, and beliefs, God attaches 
 lio-ht, energy, success, satisfaction, and enjoyment; to 
 their opposite He has joined darkness, weakness, 
 failure, dissatisfaction, and pain. If man possesses no 
 power of choice in the matter of his ideas, opinions, 
 beliefs, is it conceivable that God would inseparably 
 connect benefit with the one, and harm with the other 
 class ? Neither is it conceivable that God would attach 
 a sense of shame and unworthiness to the one, and 
 satisfaction and joy to the other ; or that He would 
 refuse to man deliverance from the shame, or deny 
 him satisfaction, save b}^ means of a change in his 
 ideas, opinions, beliefs. Eefuse therefore to concede 
 to man the power of choice, and all God's dealings 
 with him become an inexplicable enigma. Neither 
 God nor man can be understood. On the opposite view 
 all is consistent and clear. The very sense of shame 
 we realise in holding to certain opinions, and the 
 very satisfaction we feel in clinging to others, is a 
 proof in man that God holds him responsible for his 
 belief. 
 
 Let us now inquire if man has the power of choice 
 in regard to dispositions, motives, and principles of 
 
THE POWER OF CHOICE. 117 
 
 action. Every man is conscious of clierisliiug cer- 
 tain dispositions, of preferring certain motives, and of 
 acting on certain principles ; lie is likewise conscious 
 of a satisfaction in clierisliing what lie knows to be 
 right dispositions in preferring what he knows to 
 be right motives, and in acting on what he believes 
 to be right principles ; he is also conscious of a sense 
 of degradation, in cherishing what he knows to be 
 wrong dispositions, in preferring what he knows to be 
 wrong motives, and in acting on wdiat he Ijelieves to 
 be wrong principles. These facts of man's daily life 
 are attested by universal experience, and are secured 
 in their operations by the established law of his con- 
 stitution. And man is peculiarly jealous of the light 
 in which his fellow-men view his dispositions, motives, 
 and principles, and he is ever ready to vindicate 
 these. Now, on what ground can a man feel so 
 satisfied with himself in cherishing one set of dis- 
 positions, in preferring one kind of motives, and in 
 acting on one class of principles, but on the ground 
 of his conscious possession of a personal powder over 
 them ? And why should he be so peculiarly jealous of 
 the light in which his dispositions, motives, and 
 principles are viewed by others, if not on the ground 
 of the abiding connection, that he is held responsible 
 for them both in the sioht of God and man ? 
 
 This judgment of the individual consciousness of 
 mankind is indorsed and manifested in the readiness 
 with which men blame individuals for cherishinof 
 Avrong dispositions, preferring wrong motives, and 
 acting on wrong princix)lcs ; and also in the readiness 
 
it8 the science OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 with which men praise others for cherishing right 
 dispositions, preferring right motives, and acting on 
 right principles. Thus men in praising or blaming 
 others recomise a distinction between what is rig-ht 
 and beneficial, and what is wrong and baneful ; and' 
 also between what is right and difficult, and what is 
 wrong and easy ; and the praise which they award to 
 an individual for doing what is right in the face of 
 formidable difficulties is not only regarded as the 
 highest, but is always rendered with promptitude and 
 cordiality; while the condemnation pronounced against 
 individuals who before the slightest temptations give 
 way to base dispositions, mean motives, and 
 selfish principles, is equally prompt and hearty, but 
 at the same time with opposite feelings. Again, men 
 are ever ready to avow what they believe to be good 
 dispositions, worthy motives, and beneficial actions ; 
 while they are eagerly anxious to conceal what they 
 conceive to be base dispositions, wrong motives, and 
 selfish principles. This readiness to avow the one 
 class, and to cherish delight in the consciousness of 
 meriting the praise which is rendered to the man 
 possessing that class ; and the eagerness to conceal the 
 other class, and shrink from tlie consequences which its 
 possession entails, can only be fully accounted for on 
 the supposition that man is conscious of a power over 
 his dispositions, motives, and principles of action. If 
 man possesses no power over these, this experience 
 and practice is an anomaly — a contradiction in man, 
 and an unacountablc providence of God. 
 
 And God holds man responsible for the dispositions 
 
THE POWER OF CHOICE. 119 
 
 lie clierislies, the motives lie prefers, the principles on 
 which he acts. God comes into the heart of man or 
 withdraws from it in virtue of the dispositions he 
 cherishes, and God bestows joy or grief, a sense of dig- 
 nity or a feeling of degradation, through means of the 
 dispositions, motives, and principles, which have their 
 seat in the heart. This is an immutable law of God's 
 fellowship with man — He bestows satisfaction or dis- 
 satisfaction, praise or blame ; He favours or frowns 
 on this principle of intercourse — He ever has done so, 
 and He ever will do so. No man may look for agree- 
 able and delightful fellowship with God while cherish- 
 ing ungodly dispositions, motives, or principles ; and 
 let no individual dread the displeasure or abandon- 
 ment of God, while cherishing those of which He 
 approves. And why does God deal thus with man ? 
 Surely on the ground that He holds man responsible 
 for these things. And why does He hold man respon- 
 sible for these, unless on the ground that He has 
 given to him the power of choice in regard to them ? 
 Man's power over his dispositions would seem to 
 be more immediate and direct than over his opinions 
 and principles. In his choice of objects, man is 
 influenced by his ideas, and in his choice of ideas he 
 is influenced by his dispositions, and in his disposi- 
 tions he displays his inner self; hence the keen sensi- 
 tiveness, the special jealousy, with which he regards the 
 light in which his dispositions are viewed by others, 
 and the care which he takes to make his conduct, 
 especially, in so far as it is influenced by his disposi- 
 tions, appear to be correct in the view of his fellows. 
 
I20 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 Man, then, as read in the liglit of his own con- 
 sciousness, evinces the fact that he is possessed of the 
 power of choice in reference to objects, opinions, 
 motives, and dispositions — that he is a free agent, and 
 responsible both to God and man. 
 
( X2I ) 
 
 CPIAPTER VIIL 
 
 TRIAL. 
 
 The gift of tlie power of choice, as a matter of course, 
 involves the possibility of its abuse, the responsibility 
 of its use, and light for its guidance. The power of 
 choice without the implied possibility of its abuse 
 would be a contradiction. If the one scale of the 
 balance be able to go up, the other must be able to 
 go down. 
 
 Irresponsible power can be the trust only of absolute 
 perfection, not of fallible being. The possession of 
 the power of choice, necessarily involves the possibility 
 of a right or a wrong exercise of it. If the power of 
 choice could be exercised without the possibility of 
 choosing wrong, then would there be no real, but 
 merely a formal choice. If the result of any and 
 every choice w^ere the same, there could be no scope 
 for the exercise of moral choice ; and to regulate the 
 exercise of the power of choice, a principle of nature 
 and a rule of life are necessary. This principle of 
 nature is the love of wellbeino; and welldoino^. The 
 love of wellbeing and of welldoing is the deepest, 
 most enduring, and indestructible principle of all 
 .moral existence. If the love of wellbein2: and well- 
 
122 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 doing be not tlie deepest and most indestructible 
 principle of all moral nature and life, then there must 
 be another ; and thus the moral creature would not be 
 constituted in the most favourable manner for virtue 
 and holiness. And to enable man to act in accordance 
 with this principle of moral nature, he must be fur- 
 nished with a rule of action, and this rule of action 
 must be the expression of God's will, for no being but 
 God can be the absolute judge of right and wrong ; for 
 none but the Omniscient can trace the consequences 
 of any action down the stream of time, and over the 
 broad ocean of eternity, and perceive all the possible, 
 as well as all the actual results that flow from it ; 
 and without being able to do this, no being can be 
 the infallible judge of the right and wrong of action. 
 That man is incapable of being the infallible judge of 
 his own actions is clear from the fact that what 
 appears to him at one time to be trivial, often turns 
 out in its consequences to be the most important 
 event of his life, whereas many of the results of 
 individual action, which are looked forward to with 
 deepest anxiety, turn out in their consequences to be 
 insignificant and worthless. 
 
 The hiofhest reason of action in the creature is the 
 will of the Creator. This will is not only supreme 
 in authority, but absolutely right in itself, and ever 
 productive of the harmony of all nature and life. In 
 acting, then, in accordance with the will of God, the 
 creature preserves his subjective in oneness with the 
 subjective of God. The principle of implicit obedi- 
 ence is the bond of union between man and God. 
 
I RIAL. 123 
 
 The autliority or expressed will of God is that in 
 which God comes down to man, and the recognition of 
 this authority, or imphcit obedience to the will of God, 
 is that in which man assimilates to God. The will of 
 God is expressed in the constitution of the universe, 
 it is uttered in the conscience of man, and is re-echoed 
 in the pages of revelation ; and a holy creature will 
 ever be ready to do the will of God, that he may realise 
 his supreme delight in conforming himself in heart 
 and life to God. 
 
 In a state of holiness, or perfect condition of life, 
 the innocent child of the Father of spirits dwells in 
 the bright visions of the Infinite, in the clear light of 
 the true, in the ready perception of the suitableness of 
 God's authority. In this state there is no jarring 
 emotion to disturb the security of his peace, no shade 
 of obscurity to darken his visions of the Divine, no 
 apprehensions of fear to awaken disquietude within. 
 With holy harmony reigning within, and perfect order 
 without, obedience is as easy as the inhaling of pure air 
 by the healthy organ of breathing, as delightful as the 
 outo-oing of love. Temptation can only be realised 
 when there is a power adequate to obscure the vision 
 of God in the heart of the subject of temptation, and 
 impair the sense of obligation to the Divine. This 
 power may consist in the ability to present the objects 
 of sense so as to captivate the imagination and in- 
 flame the desire, and thus withdraw the attention 
 from what is going on in the subjective, and by this 
 means magnify the objective so as to falsify its rela- 
 tions to the subjective, and thus allure the ^^■ill. 
 
124 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 And in a state of trial, and condition of moral pio- 
 bation, tliere must be in the subject of temptation, 
 whether in an unfallen or fallen sphere of life, a possi- 
 bility of realising an obscuration of the vision of God ; 
 and such a possibility might be realised through means 
 of giving an undue attention to the outer; yielding 
 to the fascination of the external, and allowing it to 
 allure the attention from the watchfulness due to what 
 is taking place in the internal. 
 
 In dallying Avith temptation there is a yielding to 
 the power of the tempter, a realisation of the increas- 
 ing influence of the outer over the inner, of desire 
 over the perception of right, duty, interest ; and this 
 will ever increase in its influence in the temj)ter if he 
 does not at once dismiss the tempter by instantly 
 turning to God. In yielding to temptation, the ob- 
 jective is allowed to obscure the subjective, and the 
 desire to obtain the imagined good prevails over the 
 fear of doing what is doubtful or injurious. And in 
 resolving to secure the imagined good, there is a 
 departure from God, and a violation of the necessary 
 conditions of wellbeing^. There is the closino; in 
 W'ith the suggestions of the tempter, instead of indors- 
 ing the promptings of the Spirit of God, and co-oper- 
 ating with Him in working out what He works in 
 man to will and to do. And thus departure from the 
 law of rectitude may take place at once, or, after a 
 prolonged struggle, it may be brought about heed- 
 lessly, rashly, or delibcratel}^' ; but in all cases there is 
 more or less anxiety and inner conflict. Bias may 
 blunt the perception, desire may obscure the judg- 
 
TRIAL. 125 
 
 ment, and passion may cany the will, but tliere is 
 always tlie consciousness of a personal act, preferring 
 self to God, and this consciousness is a witness that 
 the volition is not adopted for the glory of God in 
 the maintenance of the order established by Him. 
 
 In yielding to temptation — in resolving independ- 
 ently of, and in opposition to, the will of God — there 
 is the formation of a new combination, the introduc- 
 tion of an element of conflict, the termination of the 
 harmonious order of the Divine, the commencement 
 of an endless strife in the human. In willing without 
 God, and, of course, in opposition to Him, there is the 
 introduction into the consciousness of an element 
 which disturbs the inner life and sets the internal 
 powers into conflict, and an abiding conviction of sin 
 and guilt is the result ; and escape from this conviction 
 is impossible to man, for he can neither deny his sin, 
 nor chanfre its character, nor alter its results. In 
 resolving to act as he has done, the sinner has deranged 
 the harmony of nature, and frustrated the benevolent 
 design of God ; he has violated the inner requirements 
 of his own wellbeing, and acted in opposition to the 
 first principles of the constituted order of the universe ; 
 he has shut himself up in the consciousness of having 
 done what he should not have done, and this con- 
 viction cannot but be the tormenting demon of his 
 recollection. 
 
 By the preference man has given to temptation he 
 has banished God from the inner of his soul ; and by 
 so doing he has lost the direct vision of the Holy One, 
 the consciousness of innocence, the agreement of will 
 
126 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 and desire with the will and law of God. The har- 
 mony of God's work within, and His administration 
 over the sinner, is no longer realised in a conscious- 
 ness of perfection of being and life. The enjoyment 
 of a blissful fellowship with the Father of spirits in 
 the consciousness of a oneness of subjective and 
 objective with the objective and subjective Divine is 
 no longer possessed. The approach of God, in the 
 more immediate manifestations of Himself, is no 
 longer delighted in as the drawings near of an approv- 
 ing Father, but dreaded as the descent of an avenging 
 Judge. There is likewise an acquisition as well as a 
 deprivation, viz., the acquisition of the feeling of 
 separation from and unlikeness to God, and of con- 
 flict with Him ; also a realisation of inner strife and 
 woe. In this experience then is the realisation of a 
 void, an inner derangement, a dread, a conflict, and 
 a bondage to self. 
 
 Throuirh trans frression the sinner disturbs and 
 deranges God's order of combination, and forms a new 
 and diiferent one of his own. But in this new com- 
 bination in the consciousness of the transgressor, there 
 is no creation of original substance or faculty ; there 
 is, however, the creation of a new power, the convic- 
 tion of having resolved falsely is a new element in 
 the inner existence of man, and a tremendous power 
 for evil. In the formation of this combination, there 
 is the commencement of new operations, and the 
 inner of the disturber of order becomes the scene of 
 disorder, conflict, and woe. The afl'ections of the 
 transgressor are no longer in sympathy with the 
 
TRIAL. 127 
 
 Divine, his tlionglits are no longer in harmony ^Yith 
 the true, nor his will any longer in union with the 
 riirht, he is alienated from the Divine and enslaved 
 to the false, he is in conflict with God and with his 
 own conscience. " The way of the transgressor is 
 hard," and he is utterly helpless in his efforts to 
 escape from this struggle. " There is no peace for 
 the wicked." "Dead in trespasses and sin," unable to 
 approjDriate the immediate manifestations of the 
 Divine so as to nourish his soul on the " Bread " of 
 life, he is sold to self. 
 
 Transgression cannot but deprive the transgressor 
 of the loveliness of innocence and the imao^e of God. 
 No creature can act in ojiposition to the end of his 
 existence and remain in the image of God. Trans- 
 gression must deprive the transgressor of the con- 
 sciousness of the rectitude of his doing. No indi- 
 vidual can do what he doubts to be right, or fears to 
 be wrong, and still retaiji the consciousness of the 
 rectitude of his doine^s. Transo-ression must awaken 
 in the sinner a sense of the unworthiness of his doino; 
 and being, it must arouse wdthin him the operation 
 of the reactionary principles of his life, and the con- 
 demnation of his conscience. Every moral creature 
 possesses a sense of right, an inward satisfaction in 
 doing what is right, and an inner dissatisfaction in 
 doing what he knows to be wrong, and the conscious- 
 ness of doing what he knows to be wrong must arouse 
 this feeling of dissatisfaction, and jDroduce in him the 
 loss of harmony with the Divine. The evil doing of 
 the transgressor must disturb the relations of his 
 
128 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 being, and deprive liim of tlie consciousness of inno- 
 cence and delightful fellowship with God, it must 
 awaken the feeling of unworthiuess and the effort to 
 escape from his inner condemnation and distress, it 
 must quicken consciousness so as to make him feel 
 the disturbance he has produced. The evil doing of 
 the transgressor must separate him from his Father, 
 and bring him under His displeasure, and create a 
 hungering in the deeper instincts of his spirit. If 
 God be not a mere abstraction, if there be in Him a 
 recomition of the obedience and disobedience of His 
 creatures, and an approval of the right, and a disap- 
 proval of the wrong, then the transgression of His 
 law must awaken in Him displeasure towards the 
 transgressor, and He cannot fail to manifest His dis- 
 pleasure by the withdrawal of all sense of His appro- 
 bation from the violator of His law, and to awaken 
 within him the consciousness of wrath, and thus a 
 separation must take place between the transgressor 
 and God. The transc^ressor cannot delight in a 
 
 CD O 
 
 frowning God, and God cannot regard with com- 
 placency the breaker of His law. 
 
 Has man, then, transgressed the law of his life, 
 or has he made the right use of the power of choice ? 
 Has he kept himself in the love of God, endorsed 
 and carried out the Divine rule of combination 
 set before him in the established order of the uni- 
 verse ? Has he preserved, in a holy life, his har- 
 mony of being, his rectitude of will, his fellowship 
 of spirit with his Father ? Is the subjective and ob- 
 jective of the human one with the subjective and 
 
TRIAL. 129 
 
 oLjective Divine. Does man in liis inner being 
 move divineward, and only divineward — clierisli 
 right, and only right dispositions — entertain correct, 
 and only correct ideas — act on just, and only just 
 principles ? Does he undeviatingly pursue the one 
 end of his existence in the exercise of the power 
 of choice, look only to God for direction, and 
 seek to live in the consciousness that he can be 
 blessed, and glorious only, as his subjective is one 
 with the subjective of God. 
 
 Let universal consciousness, the prevailing sense 
 of mankind, the incessant efforts of man answer the 
 question. These cannot say that the feelings of 
 humanity move in harmony with the will of God. 
 Man's consciousness does not testify that his most 
 fervent affections, his most eager aspirations, are 
 ever Godward, that his conceptions of being and 
 observations of life are at all times correct ; that 
 his motives, principles, and actions, are what they 
 should always be what he himself conceives they 
 ought to be. No, the accusations and struggles 
 of his conscience, the immoralities, crimes, and 
 experience of his life, clearly establish the fact 
 that man is not unfolding his constitution, or de- 
 veloping the principles of his nature in accordance 
 with the end of his existence. He, alas ! is no 
 stranger to deep-heaved sighs, or heavy-burdened 
 groans and unavailing efforts. 
 
 Man must be either perfect or imperfect. If he is 
 perfect, he is fully satisfied with his condition, wholly 
 contented with his life, complete in the enjoyment 
 
130 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 of conscious fellowship witli God, himself, and his 
 fellows, all the powers of his nature moving in 
 undisturbed harmony with the principles of his 
 constitution, and all the functions of his soul 
 sympathetic with the Divine. But the least discern- 
 ment of man's present condition, or the slightest 
 reflection on the struggles of his life, shows that 
 such is not the case. No, the ever and anon con- 
 sciousness, the universal sense of mankind, the 
 ever strivinef efforts of man, tell in clearest lioht 
 that he is not at ease in his life, contented with 
 his lot, perfect in his nature. 
 
 To what, then, is all this imperfection of human 
 life to be traced — to the design, plan, and workman- 
 ship of God, or to man's abuse of his power of 
 choice ? Surely it cannot be traced to the former, 
 only to the latter. God, in His infinite wisdom 
 and benevolence, would never produce a creature 
 to be ever struggling against the Author of his 
 existence and the conditions of his wellbeino: : this 
 would have been to have created man in conflict 
 with the principles of his own nature, the end, and 
 necessities of his life. It would have been to render 
 fellowship with God 2:)0ssible only through the 
 consciousness of His wrath. 
 
 Man has abused his power of choice, and in this 
 abuse he has formed combination different from God's, 
 and the proof of his having done so is seen in his 
 dislike to God, and in his efforts to modify or get rid 
 of the demands of the Divine law, that he may give 
 himself up to the gratifications of self And in this 
 
TRIAL. 131 
 
 liis folly is apparent, for pleasure-seeking is not the 
 end of man's being, but the propensions of his animal 
 nature towards gratification, Man's animal instincts 
 move, and with it they are satisfied. The search 
 after truth in the acquisition of knowledge is not the 
 end of man's being, but of man's rational life ; towards 
 science and philosophy his intellectual faculties move, 
 and in the attainment of truth repose. Yet man 
 strives to rest here. Worthiness, however, in the 
 conscious rectitude of man's being and life, in a sense of 
 oneness with God, is the end of his existence ; for in 
 this his soul delights, and aspires to no higher enjoy- 
 ment. Man realises a fulness of an unalloyed bliss 
 in the consciousness that his subjective and objective 
 are one with the subjective and objective of God. But 
 this is not the object for the attainment of which 
 every man strives. 
 
 Man's experience proves that he is in a condition of 
 conflict Avith himself and of disobedience with God ; 
 disorder within and without reiorns in his life. The 
 principles of his nature do not move in harmony, his 
 desires are not sympathetic with the conditions of his 
 wellbeing ; he is not satisfied with his present state, 
 he lon^s after a hiHier order of beinof, and strives in- 
 cessantly to rise superior to the calamities of his life. 
 Man endeavours to escape from the upbraidings of his 
 conscience, the perplexity of his mind, the misgiv- 
 ings of his heart, the anxieties of his spirit — these are 
 known to all, and do what he will he cannot surmount 
 the evils of his present state. 
 
 Man cannot deny that he groans under the pressure 
 
132 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 of evil ; that he is existing in a state of couflict with 
 God Himself and the conditions of his wellbeing, 
 that he lonirs for a hi2;her and a better state, a more 
 satisfying condition of being and life. He must 
 admit that he struggles with evils which he cannot 
 avoid ; he must allow that his body is diseased 
 and dying ; that his mind is ignorant and perplexed. 
 He cannot deny that his conscience is ever accusing 
 and excusing himself ; nor Avill he refuse to acknow- 
 ledo-e that he ofttimes desires that God's law should be 
 different from what it is. Nor will he refuse to con- 
 fess that he labours to propitiate God, and that he 
 does so in vain. Yes, the whole being, life, and 
 circumstances of man, prove that he is in a state 
 of disorder and conflict, and that if his calamities are 
 not greater, this is not traceable to himself nor to any 
 counteracting power in his nature, but solely to the 
 restraining grace of God, and the merciful dispensa- 
 tion man is placed under. Is this, then, the state in 
 which God originally placed man, or is it one into which 
 he has brought himself. It cannot be the one in 
 which he was created, for, as we have seen, man's pre- 
 sent state of existence is one of conflict with himself, 
 with the Author and end of his existence ; and to have 
 produced man in such a state would have been to 
 manifest weakness and wickedness w^hich we cannot 
 attribute to God.' A nature in conflict with itself, 
 the Author of its being, and the end of its existence, 
 exhibits the highest possible evidence of being in a 
 ' fallen condition. 
 
 The constitution of man displays a skill, power, and 
 
TRIAL. 133 
 
 benignity wliich, notwitlistanding Mill's surmises to 
 the contrary, we believe few reflecting men will hesi- 
 tate to regard as boundless. Humanity is so constituted 
 that it is impossible for man to act in harmony with 
 himself, with the Author of his being, and with the 
 end of his existence, without enjoying an elevating 
 repose. Man is constituted in the likeness of God, 
 and formed to find his true perfection and life in 
 fellowship with the Divine, but he is so perverse in 
 his dispositions, so biased in his will, so conceited in 
 his notions, that he is ever striving to live in opposi- 
 tion to his highest interests, his sense of duty, his con- 
 victions of right, and hence, his burdened conscience, 
 his sufFerino; condition, his inner conflict, stru2f2:le, and 
 woe. It would be the stransrest of all contradictions 
 to imagine that God has created man with capacity 
 which can only be satisfied with the indwelling of the 
 Divine, and has at the same time implanted within 
 him a deep-rooted aversion to Himself. 
 
 We may discard this supposition as absolutely 
 impossible. It is possible to conceive that, through 
 insanity, the architect of a magnificent temple might 
 contemplate it in a state of ruin with satisfaction and 
 joy ; that a monarch, through some hallucination, 
 might delight in a revolution of his empire and in 
 the rebel condition of his subjects ; or that a parent, 
 through intellectual derangement, might take pleasure 
 in the sickness and death of his children ; but daring 
 impiety itself cannot conceive of the Holy One taking 
 delight in the ruin of His noblest work, the anarchy 
 and rebellion of His ofi'spring, the death and ruin of 
 
134 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 the immortal spirit LrcatLed from Himself. Man's 
 present condition is traceable alone to his abuse of 
 his power of choice, in the formation of a combination 
 different from what God established in His creation 
 when He breathed into him the breath of life. 
 
( 135) 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 RETRIBUTION. 
 
 God lias created elements of being cajDable of endless 
 variety in combination, and lias set agents over these 
 elements to combine tliem for every variety of pur- 
 pose. In particular essences God has placed certain 
 forces and faculties, to certain emotions He has 
 attached certain sympathies, to certain ideas certain 
 sensations, to certain convictions certain realisations ; 
 and over these He has placed will, conscience, person- 
 ality, and commanded man in all his doings to obey 
 His law, and has warned man against bringing the 
 'powers and principles of his being into conflict and 
 discord by transgressing His law. 
 
 Original elements possess primary forces and sus- 
 ceptibilities which act not in themselves, nor in their 
 individual capacity, but in combination wdth other 
 powers. Primary forces are known under the desig- 
 nation of chemical, mechanical, and vital powers and 
 influences. These are capable of endless variety in 
 combination, and into whatever combination they are 
 brought, they operate in accordance with their original 
 nature, and the relations they sustain in the combina- 
 tion. 
 
i-,6 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 J 
 
 Agents arc endowed with tlic power and respon- 
 sibility of clioice in forming new combinations. In 
 the evolutions and development of nature, and in 
 forming new combinations, they act under the con- 
 viction of doing what is right, or the apprehension of 
 doing what is wrong. No original primary or simple 
 power or disposition is conflictive in itself. If the 
 forces of nature are combined in harmony, they act 
 for God, and in acting for God they act in concord 
 with one another ; and in acting in accordance with 
 the law of God, they develop in the most vigorous 
 forms the powers and cajDabilities of their being. All 
 power and capacity have been created to subserve the 
 Divine purpose, but they have also been called into 
 existence w^ith the possibility of being brought into 
 combinations of discord with God, and with them- 
 selves. In other words, they have been created with 
 the capability of operating in harmony or in discord 
 with God, and with one another. 
 
 In every combination of matter, each atom, how- 
 ever insignificant, tells in the whole. In every com- 
 bination of sound, from the faintest whisper to the 
 loudest thunder, whether in harmony or discord, each 
 tone, thouirh not discerned or even discernible in itself 
 to the ordinary ear, has its own part in the concert 
 or the storm ; every atom or shade in the combina- 
 tions of colour, although not perceptible in itself to 
 the keenest e}'c, has its own part in the effect pro- 
 duced ; every flaw or unsoundness in the material 
 and in the construction of a machine, thouirh not in 
 tlie most careful scrutiny detected, has its influence 
 
* 
 
 RETRIBUTION. 137 
 
 in weakening the efficiency of tlie machine, and 
 securing loss through its break clown; every sensation, 
 desire, emotion, action, whether agreeable or disagree- 
 able, tells in the formation of the character, and in 
 the realisation of the life. Chemical, mechanical, 
 and vital forces acting in conflict, must ever produce 
 disease, suffering, and destruction ; intellectual faculties 
 acting in conflict must ever produce perplexity, dis- 
 appointment, confusion ; spiritual powers acting in 
 conflict must ever produce self-condemnation and 
 despair. The chemical, mechanical, and vital forces 
 of nature acting in harmony, produce a true cosmos ; 
 the rational and spiritual acting in concord produce 
 a perfect human life, and secure a Divine fellowship. 
 
 In all combination of substance, mechanism, and 
 life, every element has its position, and plays its own 
 part ; this is in accordance with the will and purpose 
 of God, and His justice is apparent in ever securing 
 to every element, of whatever kind, in whatever com- 
 bination of relation or operation it may be brought, 
 its own ; and this holds good, no matter in what way 
 the combination has been efl'ected, whether blindly or 
 with intelligence, whether intentionally or uninten- 
 tionally. In combination, motive may clash with 
 will, desire with conscience, interest with conviction, 
 but God secures to each its own place and part ; He 
 is no respecter of things any more than of persons. 
 His justice is not impaired, but rather the more con- 
 spicuously illustrated, in His securing calamity from 
 discord of combination and inicpiity of life. The grand 
 end of His providence in the present state of being is 
 
1^,8 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 'J 
 
 to afford full scope for the formation of every possible 
 combination, and for the full operation of every power 
 in every combination, and to secure tlie natural result 
 of all elements in tlic several combinations, wlietlier 
 they are combinations of concord or discord, or 
 partially of both. It is the design of God, in His 
 present government of the world, to show to princi- 
 palities and powers, in heavenly and earthly "places," 
 what endless variety of combinations may be made in 
 human life, and what must be the inevitable results 
 of these combinations when brought about. 
 
 No power, not misdirected, can produce disease, 
 deformity, suffering, or death ; but all powers, acting 
 in discord with the will of God and with one another, 
 do produce in the degree of their vigour, and in the 
 measure of their activity, deformity, disease, suffering, 
 and death. When the powers of nature are combined 
 in discord, they operate in opposition to the develop- 
 ment of their higher functions, they interfere with the 
 wellbeing of creation, and bring destruction on what- 
 ever comes under their sway. This destruction is, 
 however, only of the mechanism or combination of 
 the substances in which their j^owers inhere. When 
 the powers of rational life are united in harmonious 
 combination, intelligence and godliness are the result ; 
 when they are combined in conflict, error and degrada- 
 tion are the result. It is a fundamental principle, an 
 immutable law of combination, exjDressive of the 
 design and determination of God, that every com- 
 bination of elements and powers of life shall secure 
 its owii result ; and this design is as really, though 
 
RETRIBUTION. 139 
 
 not directly, answered in the destructive effects of 
 •the one combination, as in the enjoyment and progress 
 of the other. 
 
 The development of the capabilities of elements, and 
 of the functions of agents in concord, is the design of 
 God in the established order of the universe. And 
 the deformity, suffering, and death which result from 
 the combinations man has formed, are also designed 
 and determined by God. The one, however, is im- 
 mediately, the other mediately, determined by God. 
 That He does not desire a conflictinof combination is 
 seen in the fact, that every conflictiug combination of 
 matter terminates sooner or later in the dissolution 
 of the mechanism or combination itself, or in the 
 derangement and strife of the powers of sj)iritual 
 essence, which, being incapable of the dissolution of 
 its mechanism, continues to suffer. Agents, in form- 
 ing combinations of discord, usually act in opposition 
 to their convictions of right, and thus violate the first 
 principle of moral agency. Every agent must form 
 some combinations, and those who will not form com- 
 binations with the Divine or with the godly, must 
 form them with the diabolic or the selfish, and in the 
 retributive conscience receive their reward, as did 
 Belshazzar, Tiberias, and Charles IX. of France. 
 
 If beings entrusted with the power of choice will 
 abuse that trust by bringing the element over which 
 they have control into combinations of discord, God 
 may not be expected to arrest the natural action of 
 the several powers in their combinations and alter 
 their relative influence. It is folly to assume that 
 
140 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 He may cease to n2:)liold these powers now tliat tliey" 
 are brought into a combination of conflict, and sus- 
 pend their operations the moment they are brought 
 into the relation of discord. When man vioLates 
 the conditions of his wcllbeinof, God is not to iro back 
 in His purpose and alter the constituted order of the 
 universe ; were He capable of doing this, the con- 
 sistency of His government would be at an end, and 
 His wisdom might be questioned. God will not 
 destroy combinations nor restrain in any way the 
 nature of powers, or alter them in any degree in their 
 operations of conflict, but will maintain them in the 
 full strength of their action, until, in accordance with 
 their nature, they exhaust their energies in the 
 conflict, or resolve their substances into their original 
 elements. And if the substance in Avliich the powers 
 in conflict act be incapable of dissolution, such, e.g., 
 as mind, then will He sustain it in the conflict of its 
 powers throughout ceaseless ages. Influences, powers, 
 and agencies may act upon individuals insidiously or 
 imperceptibly in preparing them for disobedience, yet 
 they do so none the less efficiently. Indeed, it is 
 generally through the operation of imperceptible 
 influences that men are prepared for acting rightfully 
 or Avrongfully. Agents may act intentionally or 
 unintentionally, but whatever combination they form, 
 the result of that combination must be realised, and 
 then shall they be made to know that tliey sliall reap 
 the fruit of their doings. God will sustain the opera- 
 tion of every power while its strength endures, and 
 thus justice for ever reigns, and equity holds sway 
 
RE TRIE UTION. 1 4 1 
 
 in all tlie combinations and operations of liuman 
 
 life. 
 
 Nor does it matter liow or in what way tlie com- 
 Lination of conflict may be brought about, whether 
 designedly or heedlessly, knowingly or unknowingly, 
 2:)ious]y or impiously, if the combination be formed, 
 the forces of the elements combined must act. Thus, 
 if an infant falls into a boiling caldron, and a new 
 combination be formed, we do not suppose that 
 God will then and there suspend the power of heat to 
 burn or alter the capacity of tlie child's body to 
 prevent its being scalded. If through carelessness 
 a spark falls upon a magazine of powder, and a new 
 combination of elements be formed, we do not expect 
 that God will arrest the action of the explosive 
 materials even though thousands of lives be endan- 
 gered, and numerous families be involved in utter 
 ruin. If in the castings of a steam engine a flaw 
 escapes detection ; if in the building of a vessel dry 
 rot in portions of the timber be unobserved, and a 
 combination of elements of weakness instead of 
 strength be formed ; if the machinery break down, 
 or if the boiler burst, or the ship spring a leak, we 
 do not expect that God is to work a miracle and 
 suspend the action of the destroying powers to 
 prevent the ruin of those involved in destruction. If 
 a man by mistake swallows poison ; if a medical 
 practitioner in the discharge of his duty inhales 
 deadly effluvia ; or if a missionary in fervent zeal 
 and self-denying devotedness incautiously exposes 
 himself to the treachery of savages, and thus a 
 
142 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 combination of destructive powers be formed, we are 
 not to suppose tliat God is necessitated to step 
 forward and arrest tlie operation of these powers, or 
 to render the sufferers invulnerable. We do not find 
 tliat He interferes witli any of the combinations of 
 material substances throughout the varied forms in 
 nature's operations, and if He does not in the com- 
 binations of matter, we can hardly imagine that He 
 interferes with the combinations of mind and 
 spirit. If a man througli perversion forms a com- 
 bination of error and prejudice, no one is simple 
 enough to suppose that God will restrain the opera- 
 tions of such a combination, and rescue him from 
 the conflict of perplexity and doubt consequent 
 thereon. If an individual by disobedience deprives 
 himself of the 2:)resence of God in his soul, and 
 awakens within his breast the conviction of wrono-- 
 
 O 
 
 doing, God is not, as a matter of course, to suspend 
 the operation of the powers of inner conflict, re- 
 establish harmony, and secure to the guilty conscience 
 joy and peace. 
 
 In upholding the powers of nature and securing to 
 them their results, God displays His pleasure and dis- 
 pleasure, makes known His love and admiration, or 
 His condemnation and wrath. The approbation of 
 God is expressed in His securing to the obedient the 
 reward of " his keeping the law of the Lord ; " and 
 " thrf wrath of God " is displayed in His bringing on 
 the disobedient the penalty of their disobedience. 
 And thus the end of God is as really^ though not so 
 directly, secured in tlie display of "■ His wrath," as in 
 
RE TRIB UTION. 1 4 3 
 
 the manifestation of His admiration. Let no one, 
 then, imagine that God will deny Himself and go 
 back upon His work, to alter in the least degree, or 
 weaken the force of any power brought into any com- 
 bination of conflict ; on the contrary. He will main- 
 tain them in the full force of their energy, until they 
 either exhaust their strength or resolve their sub- 
 stances into their primitive elements. It is a false 
 and fatal conception, and one by no means compli- 
 mentary to the all-Avise Creator, to suppose that the 
 contending and destroying operations of powers in 
 combinations of discord are not in accordance with 
 His purpose, and that when disasters arise from any 
 combination, they do so by accident and because they 
 are not in accordance with His design, and that God 
 will sooner or later interfere to mitigate the sufferings 
 and rescue from ruin those who are involved in it. 
 Such suppositions arise from superficial observations 
 of God's character and designs. Disapprobation of 
 wrong is as real a principle of God's nature as appro- 
 bation of right ; it exists in the subjective as really 
 as it is manifested in the objective Divine ; it is 
 embedded in the princij)les of all moral being, and 
 realised in the experience of God's rational offspring, 
 and it is so because it has its seat in Himself. In 
 His intercourse with man, He holds him responsible 
 for his entire life in all his opinions and dispositions. 
 The love of wellbeimij and the hatred of illbeino- is 
 indelibly engraven on the spirit of man ; and in thus 
 creating man, God has stamped upon him His ov\^n 
 image. If, then, He possesses such in Himself — if 
 
144 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 He lias impressed tlie Scame tliiug ou the nature of 
 man — is He not necessitated to u23liold that law in 
 His intercourse with man ? 
 
 If, then, God has created substances with qualities, 
 and agents with powers ; if to these agents He has 
 assigned laws for their guidance in the exercise of 
 their j^ower of choice, and if these laws arise out of 
 the very nature of being ; and if many, notwith- 
 standing all God's care and attention, abuse His 
 power of choice in the formation of new combinations 
 — the results of these cannot possibly be the same 
 as if he had exercised his reason in the formation 
 of right combinations. If God has formed human 
 bodies with sensations, minds wdth faculties of 
 thought, s^^irits with consciousness of inner con- 
 dition ; if He has conferred on man the power of 
 choice, the principle of free responsible nature ; and 
 if He has attached the reward of glory and bliss to 
 the right use of reason, recognising its responsibility 
 in the formation of proper combinations ; and if He 
 has affixed the penalty of conscious shame, degra- 
 dation, and woe, to the neglect of reason in the 
 formation of w^rong combinations ; and if He has 
 counselled man in regard to the one, and warned him 
 in reference to the other — then surely man alone is to 
 blame for the degradation and suffering of humanity. 
 If God has attached certain sensations to certain 
 states of physical life, agreeable to healthful states 
 and painful to diseased ; if to correct thinking He 
 has united satisfaction, and to erroneous, dissatis- 
 fjxction ; if He has joined dignity and delight with 
 
RETRIBUTION. 
 
 M5 
 
 goodness of spirit, remorse and anguisli witli selfisli- 
 ness of soul ; aud if, in so doing, He lias imaged in 
 man His own perfect wisdom and life, no one surely 
 will say that He lias done wrong in so creating man 
 in His own image. If God lias given to man freedom 
 of nature, choice of state, option of subjectivity ; if 
 He lias made the consciousness of innocence the 
 elixir of the soul, and the consciousness of guilt the 
 anguish of the spirit, He has only acted in accord- 
 ance wdth the nature of thinos. If God has entrusted 
 to the personality of man a harmonious combination 
 of life, to be preserved by him in the develo^oment of 
 the constitutional relations of his existence, and if 
 man yields to a disturbing influence, and if, in dis- 
 regarding the injunctions given to him, he violates 
 the conditions of his wellbeinfr and brinirs about a 
 Avrong combination ; then the harmonious relations of 
 his life cannot continue, and God cannot feel towards 
 the transgressor of His law in the same way as He 
 feels towards him who observes it. 
 
 An important and practical inquiry at this point 
 naturally presents itself, viz., Has tlie possibility of 
 derangement been unforeseen by God, or, if not 
 unforeseen, yet unprovided for by Him ? or is it in 
 accordance with the order of existence He has estab- 
 lished, and which He is determined to uphold ? We 
 prefer the latter alternative. This view, no doubt, 
 represents God as capable of wrath, but gives no 
 indication of revengefulness. Every man knows that 
 anger is compatible with love, and wrath with mercy ; 
 indeed, the one class of feeling is the co-relation of 
 
146 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 tlie other. God created man so as that he should be 
 degraded and miserable in the dislike of the Divine, 
 in the ignorance of the true, and in the consciousness 
 of the wrongfulness of his life, as surely as He created 
 him to he dignified and ha2')py in the consciousness 
 of the rectitude of his being and life. And this is 
 an eternal and immutable condition of man's exist- 
 ence, as immutable and eternal as the body of God- 
 head. We are anxious to direct the reader's attention 
 to this point, and to rivet his thoughts upon the 
 fact, that the degradation and distress is as intimately 
 and inseparably connected with his sinning, as is 
 his happiness dependent upon his obedience. The 
 connection in the one case is as much the arrange- 
 ment of God as it is in the other ; God purposely 
 created man, so that it is imjDossible that he can 
 be other than dec-raded and distressed in his dislike 
 of the Divine. But how, it may be asked, is this 
 view of the case consistent with the goodness of God ? 
 AVe are under no obligation to answer this question ; 
 it might be enough to reply, that what has been 
 advanced is true, whatever may be the inference 
 drawn ; but we may go further and say, that it 
 is quite consistent with God's goodness, the one is 
 in accordance with His will, the other with " the 
 good pleasure of His will." The obedience of man 
 is pleasing to God, and the disobedience of man 
 displeasing to Him, God manifests Himself directly 
 and immediately in the harmony of man's consciousness 
 and life ; He reveals Himself indirectly and mediately 
 in the discordance of man's consciousness and life. 
 
RETRIBUTION. 147 
 
 Man is not created to sin and to derange tlie order 
 of God's combination, — to do so is not the law of his 
 life. It is only in the abuse of his freedom that 
 he can sin, and bring about discord with its conse- 
 quent sufferings, and when he does so, God secures 
 to him the penalty of his transgression. They greatly 
 err who imagine that God grieves at, and mourns 
 over, the conflict of the sinner's nature and suffering 
 of his life ; such views are common, but they display 
 unsound judgment and mistaken conceptions in theo- 
 logy ; they are mere sentiment. God grieves over 
 the fact that man cherishes rebellious dispositions, 
 but if man will sin, God is determined that while 
 he continues in his sinful state, he shall bear the 
 effects of his sin. The suffering of the transgressor 
 indirectly proves the necessity of his obedience, the 
 wisdom of the laws, and the benignity of the Law- 
 giver. If there was no necessity in the wellbeing of 
 the subject of law, for his acting in accordance with 
 tlie precept and spirit of the law, then would there 
 be neither wisdom nor benignity in the imposition of 
 the law. If all things were alike, then would there 
 be no possibility of acting wrong, and no need of 
 enjoining this and guarding against that, if the results 
 of all actions were alike ; then could there be no 
 necessity in the condition and circumstances of in- 
 dividuals, that they should attend to this, or refrain 
 from that mode of life. Just in the measure of the 
 necessity of the law, must be the greatness of the 
 ruin it guards against, and the dignity which it 
 secures ; and just in the measure of the benignity 
 
148 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 and wisdom of tlie law, is the necessity of obeying it 
 Punislimcnt is not arbitrary, but the inevitable result 
 of disobedience. Derangement in the physical, ra- 
 tional, and spiritual, will, and ever must, secure con- 
 flict and woe, and man must ever realise it to be so. 
 It is chiefly, however, in the spiritual that God 
 displays " His wrath," and makes " His power 
 known." The manifestation of His w^ratli begins in 
 the spiritual, proceeds from it into the rational and 
 physical ; God's wrath is muttered in the physical, 
 whispered in the intellectual, and spoken aloud in the 
 spiritual of man. 
 
 God has a right to be angry with the transgressor 
 for the iniquity he has done. He has so constituted 
 man, that, if he does wdiat is wrong, he shall realise in 
 the inner and outer of his being the consequences of 
 his wrono^-doino;. And in so constituting]^ man, God 
 has acted in accordance with the nature of things ; 
 and in awakening, maintaining, and intensifying 
 the conviction of guilt in the sinner, God makes His 
 power known to him. He has only to draw near to 
 the guilty spirit, in the revelation of His immaculate 
 purity, to make its anguish intolerable in the con- 
 sciousness of its guilt ; and in permitting this con- 
 sciousness to lull, by withdrawing Himself into ''thick 
 darkness " from the sinner's view. He manifests His 
 longsuff"ering. If there be no wrath in God, w^hy is 
 it that He has made the consciousness of guilt the 
 most dreadful realisation of the sinners spirit. Or, if 
 the conception of guilt be a delusion of the mind, as 
 some imagine, how is it that this falsehood is the 
 
RETRIBUTION. 
 
 149 
 
 most tremendous of realities in the experience of 
 human consciousness. God does not suffer the body 
 of man to escape from the languor and pain of disease, 
 but by its deliverance from disease ; and so He will 
 not suffer the spirit of man to escape from its restless- 
 ness, conflict, and anguish, but by its deliverance 
 from sin. Man perceives and acts upon this principle 
 in regard to his body ; he does not wonder that his 
 body suffers in disease, nor does he expect relief from 
 the pain of such disease but in the restoration of the 
 body to its healthy state. But man is slow to per- 
 ceive the analogy in spiritual matters, and to act on 
 this principle in reference to the distress of his spirit- 
 ual disease. What, then, is to become of the human 
 spirit in the conflict of nature. Its substance cannot 
 be resolved into primary elements, for its essence is 
 simple and indivisible. Spirits cannot moulder as 
 bodies do into dust ; the energies of spirits cannot 
 become exhausted, for they inhere in no decaying 
 matter, but are immortal as their essence is inde- 
 structible. While, therefore, they exist in a state of 
 conflict, their rage must be incessant, their effort to 
 escape unavailing, and their vexation from disajD- 
 pointment perpetual, " the wicked are like a troubled 
 sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast ujd mire 
 and dirt." The lover of wellbeing contemplating his 
 own evil-doing in the presence of immaculate purity, 
 possessed with the clear conviction that the evil in 
 which he is involved is the righteous consequence of 
 his own deliberate deeds, conscious of the inner strife, 
 and recognising the outer condemnation as the inevit- 
 
I50 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 able result of his acting in opposition to tlie conviction 
 of conscience and tlie law of his Creator, and seeing 
 the impossibility of either escape or of the mitigation 
 of the rage of passion, seeing no end of the conflict of 
 nature, and his deep, restless, unsatisfied craving, 
 can he regard his condition as being anything else 
 than a banishment into " outer darkness," an im- 
 prisonment in the burnings of " eternal fire," a per- 
 petual realisation of the ceaseless gnawings of the 
 " undying worm ? " 
 
(i5i) 
 
 CHAPTEPv X. 
 
 INABILITY, 
 
 It is of the gravest importance for us to know as 
 to whether or not, Science, Philosophy, Natural 
 religion, or Rational Christianity can point out a way 
 whereby man can rescue himself from the state of 
 conflict in which his nature is involved. Science and 
 Philosophy have already accomplished so much that 
 many look upon their domain as being practically 
 limitless and all-embracing. Can they, then, show 
 man how to overcome his internal difiiculties ; can 
 they dispel his spiritual gloom ; in a word, can they 
 lead his soul to God ? 
 
 Many have assumed, on very inadequate grounds, 
 that man needs no external help in regard to the 
 matter referred to ; he is sufficient, they believe, for 
 all things appertaining to his life and prospects, 
 spiritual and physical. But they are by no means 
 agreed as to the course which he ouo^ht to follow. 
 Man is recommended to follow " the dictates of 
 reason." To contemplate and follow the example of 
 the illustrious of former times, to do penance, to 
 repent of his former sins and give himself up to God. 
 All very plausible ; but all visionary and futile. To 
 
152 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 teach mau in tliis manner is to trifle with the c;rent 
 and momentous interests of his spirit. It is only 
 to taunt the inquiring soul. This is all that comes 
 of "the wisdom of this world." 
 
 Philosophy and the dictates of reason can do very 
 little to ease the burdened spirit of the transgressor ; 
 the conscience-stricken sinner cannot look upon his 
 sins as the prejudice of an ignorant and unphilosophic 
 mind, which the study of philosophy and the 
 enlightenment of Science will easily dispel. It is 
 in vain to speak of prejudice and ignorance to the 
 man of awakened conscience, and to tell him that 
 such convictions are but the visions of fancy, the 
 ghosts of a heated brain, and all that he has to do to 
 drive them away is, in the light of reason and 
 philosophy, to look them full in the face ; he knows 
 full well, and is constrained to acknowledge, that his 
 sense of guilt is the most tangible verity of his inner 
 consciousness, and that he may as soon command the 
 clouds to disperse, as by the voice of reason and the 
 light of philosophy bid his consciousness of guilt fly 
 away. 
 
 And what can the contemplation of innocent love- 
 liness or of human virtue do to lift the burden of 
 guilt from oflf the burdened conscience of the sinner ? 
 Those who advocate this doctrine would do well 
 to point out how such a result can thus be realised ; 
 but this they cannot do, and the only end they could 
 secure by the attempt, would be to show to them- 
 selves its impossibility. The murderer's conscience, 
 while writhing under a sense of his crime, is not 
 
INABILITY. 153 
 
 to be pacified by tlie contemplation of self-denying 
 heroism. Ah no ! it is then that he feels his guilt to 
 ■ be an intolerable burden, and his spirit, instead of 
 deriving relief from the contemplation of self-denying 
 devotedness to human wellbeing, is only the more 
 burdened ; he feels his conviction of guilt the more 
 deepened, and himself hurried with the greater 
 rapidity into despair. 
 
 The law of conscience is an impress of the Divine, 
 The quickening of the sense of blameworthiness 
 through means of the contemplation of innocence 
 and self-denying virtue is an ultimate fact of man's 
 nature, and is not the result of education or pre- 
 judice. It can then only tantalise the conscience- 
 stricken sinner the more, to direct him for peace 
 of conscience to the heroic deeds and self-denying 
 devotedness of the illustrious of earth. To treat 
 him after this fashion is only to mock him with 
 delusion ; to j)oint the eye of the sinner for relief 
 while smartino; under the lash of conscience to the 
 life and character of the self-denying One who, 
 sooner than deviate in the least from truth and 
 rectitude, voluntarily laid down His life, is not only 
 to tantalise him, but to become chargeable with 
 the absurdity of attem^^ting to accomplish an end by 
 means calculated only to secure the very opposite 
 result; nay, to ignore and pervert the great end of 
 Emmanuel's death in the very act of attempting to 
 expound His doctrine. To endeavour to promote 
 peace in the human heart by such an instrumentality, 
 is to mistake both the nature and cure of man's 
 
154 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 disease. Man's deepest convictions are ever true to 
 the priucij^lcs of his nature ; and, while writhing 
 under a sense of guilt, to be told to calm his 
 conscience and purify his life Ly gazing on the 
 martyr's death is only to mock him ; he feels that 
 this is only asking him to deepen the anguish of his 
 spirit instead of removing the v/retchedness of his 
 soul. Such doctrines may meet the wants of a 
 fancied sinfulness, but not the deep necessities of a 
 realised guilt. In the name, then, both of reason and 
 philosophy we say, away with this trifling with the 
 deepest interests both of man and God. 
 
 Such conceptions are only the dreams of fevered 
 brain, the ebulitions of bewildering speculation. To 
 talk to the sinner in such a style, is only to pervert the 
 dictates of reason and the teachings of philosophy. 
 The contemplation of immaculate purity and spotless 
 innocence, can only show to the sinner in the clearest 
 lio-ht the aiTOTavations of his ouilt, and thus intensify 
 his anguish. Direct the eye of the awakened sinner 
 to the martyr-death of Incarnate Divinity, and the 
 only effect will be to produce an increase of his misery ; 
 the conscience is ever ready to exclaim, Whence this 
 law of my being that condemns me to the face ? and 
 can any satisfactory reply be given to him, but that 
 this awakening of conscious guilt is the operation of 
 a law woven into the constitution of his being by the 
 Author of his existence, and that it is the echo of the 
 voice Divine. And is not the seuse of guilt clear 
 evidence to the sinner that he has incurred the dis- 
 pleasure of God ? and if so, will the contemplation. 
 
INABILITY. 155 
 
 of that wliich arouses in the inner of man's being a 
 sense of God's displeasure remove tlie conviction 
 of that displeasure from his mind ? Can the sinner, 
 if he reasons at all, reason otherwise than thus — If my 
 heart condemn me, must not God, who is holier than 
 my heart, condemn me still more ? If the sinner's 
 transgression has disturbed the harmony of his life, 
 and set in operation the reactionary laws of his 
 nature, and awakened such feelings in his breast, the 
 natural conclusion is that it has also awakened dis- 
 pleasure in God. Yes, the sinner does and must 
 believe in the displeasure of God against sin ; the 
 sacrifices, penances, and supplications of heathendom 
 are a witness of man's belief in this ; and the anxious 
 endeavour of the awakened sinner is not to contem- 
 plate immaculate purity, but to ascertain how God's 
 anger can be appeased, how the dark cloud which 
 envelops the Divine countenance can be removed, 
 for he feels, and that deeply, that the contemplation of 
 the heroic lives and the martyr-deaths of the excellent 
 of the earth, instead of removing the consciousness of 
 guilt, only arrows and deepens that conviction the more. 
 Again, penance can do little for the transgressor of 
 God's law ; it cannot awaken in him right conceptions 
 of the Divine, nor draw down the spirit of God to 
 raise the penitent into fellowship with his Father 
 in heaven. Fasting, lacerations, &c., can never reveal 
 God in love to man, nor afi"ord him right conceptions 
 of the mercy of Heaven, nor warm him with the love 
 of the Divine. The infliction of sufi"ering on the 
 body cannot possibly awaken love in the heart 
 
156 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 towards Ilim wlio is conceived as demanding it, tlie 
 jDresentation to heaven of the most endeared victims 
 of earth cannot afford a sight gratifying to the God 
 of compassion, nor meet the yearnings of the Father's 
 heart. Loud suppHcations to heaven, deep-heaved 
 sighs from the agonised spirit of man, cannot prevail 
 with God to become what the blinded heathen desires 
 Him to be ; no, neither penance nor human sacrifice 
 nor ''much speaking," can present man in more 
 acceptable form to God, nor reveal God in lovelier 
 grace to man. The breach between God and man 
 cannot thus be healed, such a course can only widen 
 the gulf the more and more, and make God more 
 tedious in the conception of man, and man more 
 miserable in his endeavours to serve God. The his- 
 tory of heathenism is the corroboration of this truth ; 
 such attempts have only led man to "change the 
 truth of God into a lie, and worship and serve the 
 creature more than the Creator." Man, under heath- 
 enism, has sadly degenerated in his conception of 
 God, and in his mode of worshipping Him. 
 
 Self-repentance, again, can accomplish little in the 
 removal of the consciousness of guilt from the sinner ; 
 true repentance is not merely, nor chiefly, a change 
 of the outer. A man may pass from all the external 
 vices to all the outer virtues of the world, and be 
 taken in society for a reformed man, and not be the 
 subject of that repentance " not to be rejDented of," 
 he may onljr be like the man out of whom went the 
 "unclean sj^irits," "seeking rest and finding none/' 
 and his last state in God's siuht "worse than his 
 
INABILITY. 157 
 
 first." An individual may pass from one religious 
 belief to another, till he go the round of all the creeds 
 of the different sects of earth, and instead of being 
 nearer the truth, he may only be further from it, like 
 the man to whom our Lord refers when, addressing 
 the Pharisees, He says, " Ye compass sea and land to 
 make one proselyte, and when he is made you make 
 him twofold more the child of hell." Again, true 
 repentance is not merely or chiefly sorrow for sin. A 
 man may see his sin to be so heinous that he weeps 
 bitter tears of sorrow for his transgression, and be no 
 better than Judas when he saw that his Master was 
 condemned, " repented himself and brought again the 
 thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 
 saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent 
 blood. And he cast down the thirty pieces of 
 silver in the temple, and departed, and went and 
 hanged himself." Eepentance, which is profitable to 
 man and acceptable to God, denotes an entire change 
 of the inner life of man through the quickening of the 
 Spirit of God, leading the sinner to the belief of '' the 
 truth as it is in Jesus." In this change the disposi- 
 tion, the thoughts, the desires, and the will of man, 
 are renewed, i.e., reconciled to God and to the position 
 and end of man's existence. By repentance, the sym- 
 pathies of the soul of man are raised to God, and the 
 movements of his will into harmony with the will of 
 God. Eepentance " not to be repented of," is a 
 change from the love of self to the love of God; it is a 
 change begun by the Spirit of God in the inner depths 
 of the spirit of man, a change regulated by the AYord 
 
158 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 of God and consummated in a realised likeness to 
 Jesus. This change in some is accompanied with 
 sorrow for sin, and involves a jmssing from error to 
 truth, from ungodliness to holiness, but is in no sense 
 a self-repentance. The subjects of this change are 
 not the self-rio;hteous, but sinners. Self-rioliteous- 
 ness is the greatest hindrance in man to his under- 
 iroinsr this chanoe : as Ions: as a man clings to a shred 
 of self-righteousness in any form he cannot truly- 
 repent, hence the declaration of Jesus, "I am not 
 come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." 
 Repentance involves at least three things — the seeing 
 transgression to be disobedience of the Divine law 
 and ruin to the transo;ressor ; the beinof convinced 
 that God is just in maintaining the powers of the 
 sinner's nature in their condition of conflict; and sor- 
 rowing on account of the disposition that inclined to 
 the act, as well as over the consequences of the act. 
 Repentance implies the seeing that God, in requiring 
 implicit obedience, is righteous, and that He requires 
 only what is absolutely necessary to the Spiritual life, 
 and that God, while maintaining in the transgressor a 
 painful sense of his wrong-doing, is holy and true. 
 Now, can the sinner of himself thus repent ? On the 
 contrary, he is ever striving to justify himself and to 
 merit the favour of God, and by his constant efforts 
 to vindicate his doings he is ever trying to prevail 
 upon God to change the manifestations which He has 
 given of Himself. 
 
 The sinner will admit the fact of his transgression, 
 for his conscience tells him of it, but he will not 
 
INABILITY. 159 
 
 acknowledfre the blameworthiness of his deeds : he will 
 confess to the violation of the precept, but he will 
 not consent to the riohteousness of his endurance of 
 the penalty of the law. He endeavours to persuade 
 himself that he could not help acting as he has done, 
 and seeks to shelter himself under the idea that the 
 circumstances under which he was placed led to the 
 act, and that God, who placed him in these circum- 
 stances, is more responsible than he is for the conse- 
 quences of his deeds. Temptation was strong, desire 
 urofent; if he has done wrono- he should not have been 
 created with such inclinations, and exposed to such 
 temptations ; it is, therefore, not himself, but the being . 
 who placed him in such a position that is chargeable 
 with the responsibilities of his doings. He attempts 
 to reason with himself. Why is human knowledge so 
 limited ? Why is not man supplied with as much light 
 as would make it impossible for him to do wrong ? 
 Why is man made liable to sin, and not placed beyond 
 the possibility of transgression ? AVhy is he exposed 
 to temptations and not raised above solicitations to 
 do evil ? Such is the light in vhich the transgressor 
 seeks to view his conduct, and the manner in which 
 he strives to rid himself of the law and authority of 
 God. He attempts to pervert the first principles of 
 right and wrong, the deep convictions of his own 
 inner being; "the carnal mind is not subject to the 
 law of God, neither indeed can be," hence it must 
 have all things to bend to its capricious will, to fit in 
 and square with its notions. It will have no law but 
 its own caprice, no rule but its own inclination, no 
 
i6o THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 autliority but its own will. If cany thing stands in the 
 of way its doing whatever it pleases with impunity, 
 it will instantly complain of injury and seek to resent 
 its imagined wrong. The " carnal mind " strives to 
 set itself in the very apex of being to ascend the 
 highest summit of existence, to grasp in its Almighty 
 fiat eternal and immutable principle, reign over all law 
 and authority, make a god of self, worship and serve 
 self as the end of its existence. This is the terminus 
 ad quern of guilty man. Is this, then, the spirit that 
 will repent of itself ? 
 
 But although the " carnal mind " will not repent 
 and return to God, it cannot rest in its spirit of 
 rebellion. Man's constitution forbids this ; man in 
 every transgression he commits is furnished with suf- 
 ficient liirht to enable him to avoid fallinof into the 
 transgression ; he cannot sin without acting against 
 sufficient light — this is involved in the very nature of 
 transgression. It is not an overpowering flood, but a 
 sufficiency of light that involves responsibility. If 
 man's deepest and most indestructible j)i'inciple of 
 existence be the love. of wellbeing, and if sin be the 
 doing what Ave doubt to be right and what we fear 
 to be wrong, if it be the acting from any other prin- 
 ciple than that of implicit obedience to the Divine 
 will, and desire for any other end than the glory of 
 Qod, then the transgressor acts against sufficient 
 light in every sin which he commits. He acts against 
 the imperative j^rinciple of his own life, the highest 
 obligation of his own constitution, the true condition 
 of his own wellbeing; he acts in the presence of his 
 
INABILITY, i6i 
 
 doubt, and in the face of his fear, and in the conscious- 
 ness that he is not acting on the principle of imphcit 
 obedience to the will of God. And is not his doubt, 
 his fear, his consciousness, that he is not acting on 
 the principle of implicit obedience, sufficient liglit to 
 deter him from actino^ ? Would he have omniscience 
 given to him in every moment of temiptation, omni- 
 potence to hold him back from transgression ? If 
 "whatever be not of faith is sin," surely he sins in 
 acting in opposition to his doubt, and in the face of 
 his fear, or whenever he acts without the conscious- 
 ness of acting in implicit obedience to the will of God. 
 No amount of temptation can make it right in man, 
 or can justify him in doing what he is in doubt about. 
 Nor can any force of temptation shelter him from the 
 consequences of acting in opposition to the first prin- 
 ciples of his nature. Man may sin against God, and 
 by so doing disturb the principles and relations of 
 his life ; but he cannot alter his constitution, nor 
 destroy the conditions of his wellbeing. He has been 
 created for fellowshi]) with his Father, and formed for 
 the reception and j)reservation of the image Divine ; 
 he has been brought into existence for endless joy 
 and delight in the study of truth ; he has been 
 endowed with the noblest powers for the investiga- 
 tion of the deep things of God ; he has been gifted 
 with an indestructible instinct of his lofty destiny : 
 but by sinning he has incurred guilt, j^laced himself 
 in opposition to the high conditions of his wellbeing, 
 and stumbled on the threshold of his noble career. 
 Still the principles of his nature are true to them- 
 
1 62 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 selves. The guilty cannot stifle the deep cravings of 
 his immortal spirit after God, neither can he rid 
 himself of the desire after some sort of a god. Even 
 sinful man feels that he must have a ood to hold 
 fellowship with, but the "carnal mind," the selfish 
 heart of man, will not have a holy God and an 
 absolute standard of duty. Such does not suit the 
 "carnal mind," hence a compromise must be at- 
 tempted, and thus idolatry in one form or another 
 has universally prevailed among the nations. The 
 "carnal mind" must have a god to its ow^n liking, 
 truth of its own devising, an altar of its own erection, 
 victims of its own selecting, a heaven of its own 
 framing, a glory of its own creating. And is this 
 the spirit that will repent ? 
 
 The fact that the first deepest principles of man's 
 nature is the love of wellbeing, taken in connection 
 with the fact of human transgression, sufficiently 
 explains the present condition of mankind. The 
 controversy which the " carnal mind " wages with 
 the human conscience and God is not whether there 
 be a God and an absolute right. A being created 
 with a deep receptivity for the indw^elling of the 
 Divine, and an irradicable instinct for fellowship with 
 God, can never rest in a disbelief of the Divine exist- 
 ence. Atheism is not natural to man, and never can 
 be popular ; mankind in all ages have rejected it, and 
 never will embrace it as the popular belief. A being 
 whose first, deepest, and most indestructible principle 
 is the love of wellbeing, cannot repose in the disbelief 
 of an absolute right, an imperative obligation of 
 
INABILITY. 163 
 
 iiature, an infallible rule of life. Man in all ages has 
 earnestly longed for and diligently sought after a 
 " chief 2food," but he has souo;ht for it in vain because 
 he has not grasped it " by faith/' but sought after it 
 of self. 
 
 Can, then, the transgressor repent of himself and 
 turn to God ? Look at the circumstances in which 
 lie has placed himself, and see if it be possible. Can 
 the lover of wellbeiug gaze with complacency on the 
 fact that he has transe^ressed the hig^li conditions of 
 his wellbeino; % Can he rest with satisfaction in the 
 realisation of his own inner conflict ? Can he delio^ht 
 in God imputing to him his sins ? In the nature of 
 things it is impossible for the sinner in and from 
 himself to repent of his sin, and in the absence of a 
 readjusting power to turn to God ; his doing such 
 would involve his acting in direct opposition to the 
 cherished sentiments and the reigning effort of his 
 rebel spirit. Is it possible, we would ask, for a 
 creature whose deej)est principle of nature is the love 
 of wellbeing, gladly to rest in the conviction that he 
 has deliberately acted in opposition to the first prin- 
 ciple of his nature ? is it possible for him intently to 
 gaze with complacency on his inner strife, to listen 
 with composure to the ever and anon upbraiding 
 voice of conscience, to view with cordiality the op- 
 position of desire to conscience, of will to judgment, 
 of passion to reason ? is it possible for him to delight 
 in God's ever upholding conscience to accuse him and 
 ever maintaining his powers of nature to act in conflict 
 within him, ever and anon refusing to allow him to 
 
1 64 THE SCIENCE OF SEIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 shelter liimself from liis distress under any or all his 
 subterfuQ-es of lies ? Can the rebel sinner live in the 
 belief that God is righteous in securing his degrada- 
 tion, just in shutting him up to listen to the accusa- 
 tions of his conscience, good in causing him to realise 
 the conflict he has involved himself in by sin ? No ; 
 the beingr that is created with the love of wellbeing 
 as his deepest principle of life cannot look with com- 
 placency on the ftict of his having acted deliberately 
 in opposition to the deepest interests of his soul and 
 the clear indications of the will of his God. The con- 
 stituted lover of wellbeing cannot look his guilt full 
 in the face, and fraze on his own act of self-destruction 
 with complacency. The diseased eye of the spirit 
 cannot admit the light of truth, it will only receive 
 refractions of it, and only these as tinged by the 
 medium of its own prejudice. The wounded spirit 
 dreads the operations -of its ow^i condemning power 
 as the most dreadful of all evils, and will prefer dark- 
 ness a thousand times to the pure light of truth. 
 "Every one that doeth evil hatetli the light, and will 
 not come to the light, lest his deeds should be re- 
 proved." The sinner will rather pervert his judg- 
 ments on the great essentials of truth, of right, and 
 wrong, shut himself in the mist of intellectual gloom, 
 warp his mind with the maze of speculation, error, and 
 '' call evil good, and good evil ; " and because "he likes 
 not to retain God in his knowledge, God gives him 
 over to a reprobate mind." Man might know that he 
 cannot attempt to change the principle of his con- 
 stitution witliout involving himself in darkness and 
 
INABILITY. zC5 
 
 niiii, but tliis is tlie triitli the sinner will not learn. 
 This is the conviction in Avhich above all others he 
 cannot dwell. Eternal ruin is so awful a thing to look 
 full in the face, that sooner than do so, man will 
 darken the organ of his inner vision, pervert his 
 judgments on the first principles of morality and 
 religion, and set the Author of his being at defiance. 
 lie will cry to the mountains and hills to fall upon 
 him and cover him from the face of his criminator ; he 
 will at all hazards labour to escape from the conviction 
 of guilt ; and if he can in no other way, he will place 
 himself in confirmed rebellion against God, charge the 
 Almighty to His face of being the true Author of 
 man's heinous guilt and the dreadful consequences of 
 his sin — tremendous but unavoidable effect of sin when 
 carried to its legitimate result. Can, then, man 
 repent of himself ? It is awful folly in him to make 
 tlie attempt, and dire infiituation in others to urge 
 him to make the effort. 
 
 If, then, sinful man cannot of himself repent and 
 Itring back God into his soul, can he in creation dis- 
 cover a power that will enable him to do so ? This 
 is equally impossible to man, for a restorative medium 
 could never have been deposited in nature. The very 
 nature of morality and religion forbid the possibility 
 of any such deposit. If there could have been such 
 in the finite, its very existence would have sapped 
 the foundations of morality and religion. However 
 deep it might have been deposited in the secrets of 
 nature, man, in the onward progress of his search- 
 in gs in his study of science and philosophy, would 
 
1 66 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LITE. 
 
 sooner or later have come upon it, and then wliat 
 would have been tlie result? The "carnal niind" 
 would have had the knowledge of a power which 
 would have enabled the transgressor to readjust the 
 disorders of his transgression, and possessing the 
 knowledge of such a power, the sinner would have 
 gone on in his transgressions, and in the readjusting 
 of the disturbances of his sins, in an endless series. 
 And thus the transe^ressor would have become inde- 
 pendent of God, and superior to all authority and 
 law — the very condition of existence the " carnal 
 mind " so eagerly covets, and so earnestly strives to 
 reach. The possession of such a power would have 
 enabled the sinner to repair the evils of his transgres- 
 sion as soon as they were felt ; nay, the existence of 
 such a jDower in nature would have rendered trans- 
 gression an impossibility, for if on the immediate 
 discovery of the evils of transgression the sinner 
 could at once repair that evil, where would have been 
 the transgression ? And would not the existence of 
 such a power in the finite have rendered the existence 
 of religion an impossibility ? It would have rendered 
 the sinner independent of God ; it would have with- 
 drawn him from God, conhrmed him in idolatry, and 
 created a gulf between him and God, and thus for 
 ever separate him from his Father. Could, then, 
 such a power have been deposited in the finite by 
 God ? does not the very idea of such a power being 
 found in creation, and the search after it in nature, 
 display ignorance of the first principles of religion, and 
 afford clear evidence of a heart estranged from God ? 
 
INABILITY. 167 
 
 IIow nobly ignoLle is the pliilosopliic search after 
 such a power in nature, and what are the efforts of 
 rationalism but to discover such a power ? If a 
 remedy for sin exists anywhere, it must exist in God, 
 and only in God. 
 
 Supposing such a power to exist in God, can man 
 by speculation discover it as lying deep in the essence 
 of this being, or in the undisclosed movements of this 
 life ? Man does by speculation endeavour to search 
 out the "deep things of God," but what can specu- 
 lation do in the discovery of the mysteries of God- 
 head ? AA^hat can sj)eculation do in the revelation of 
 the true, in the manifestation of the purpose kept in 
 the depths of God secret from " ages and genera- 
 tions " % AVhat are human, speculations on the deep 
 things of God but the reveries of darkened, prejudiced 
 minds, the welling up of the fanciful conceptions of 
 troubled spirits, evolutions of the tangled threads of 
 bewildered brains ? And can such disclose the things 
 kept secret by God, and sound the inner depths of the 
 Eternal Council, penetrate the mysteries, and reveal 
 the unrevealed purpose of Godhead ? The thing is 
 not only impossible in regard to the impenetrable of 
 the Absolute, but also in regard to the aim of specu- 
 lation itself; for what is speculation at best but 
 guessing, the formation of hypothesis on a mere 
 surmise ? In the very nature of speculation after 
 such a power there can be no search, no meek 
 inquiry by the troubled spirit,, but only the new 
 turnings up of the inner kaleidoscope of disturbed 
 mind, the ever-fresh but ever-fanciful combinations 
 
1 68 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 of ideas existing in tlie human — a vain attempt of 
 the disordered finite subjective to produce from its 
 own confusion a liiolier order of existence than is to 
 be found in its own objective. AVhat else can philo- 
 sophic speculation be in the deep things of God ? 
 Man in and from himself can produce no original 
 idea ; he cannot call into existence things that are 
 not, nor can he descend into the inner depths of the 
 Eternal Mind, and drag thence the arcana of Divine 
 Council. In his speculations man can only combine 
 in endless variety the ideas already existing within 
 his scope. He can create, discover, disclose nothing 
 of the uncreated. And what he in fancy combines 
 may be an image the very opposite of wliat he 
 imagines it to represent. How absurd, fallacious, 
 and fatal are all human speculations regarding the 
 mysteries of religion and the secrets of Godhead ! 
 
 If man cannot by speculation discover the " deep 
 things of God," can he by reason attain to a know- 
 ledge of them ? Man has indeed gone to nature with 
 the earnest and persevering efforts of reason, en- 
 treating her to enable him by the aid of her ladder, 
 not only to ascend to God, but also to descend into 
 the inner depths of Godhead and drag thence the 
 secrets of Divine Council, but in this man has mis- 
 taken the true function of reason. Nature, even in 
 her original perfection, could not have afforded such 
 means and facilities, much less in her disordered and 
 conflicting condition. Such discovery is not possible 
 even to the unfallen intelligence of heaven, much 
 less to fallen man, were he even surrounded bv a 
 
INABILITY. 169 
 
 perfect state of nature. Nature, even in her original 
 perfection, could not have revealed the undisclosed 
 purpose of God — God in Himself — for then she must 
 have been God. The want of this perception underlies 
 the speculative cogitations of man on the deep things 
 of God, hence the pantheism which is so manifest in 
 so many philosophic theories of the age. In this 
 effort man perceives not that nature is no longer the 
 exact objective of the infinite subjective. He sees 
 not that she is no longer the unmutilated manuscript 
 of Divine revelation she once was, the carefully-pre- 
 served parchment of that word which was written by 
 the finger of God in the creation of all things — not 
 this, but only the broken tablets, interpolated codices, 
 a volume of various readings. Nor is this all. Man 
 not only fails to perceive that his world within and 
 without is no lono;er what it once was : he also fails to 
 perceive that his spiritual eye, being diseased, cannot 
 correctly read even this distorted revelation as it 
 is. He sees not that the diseased eye of the spirit 
 cannot steadily contemplate the fallen conditions of 
 his life, but shuts itself against the light as soon 
 as it begins to pain the unhealthy organ. But were 
 even nature complete and entire, and could it be 
 read by a clear and penetrating eye, it could not even 
 then disclose to man "the deep things of God." 
 Eeason no more than speculation can create original 
 ideas, nor disclose to itself the perfections or designs 
 of God which He has not revealed. The jDrovince 
 of reason is not to discover what God keeps within 
 Himself, but meekly and teachably to inquire of 
 
lyo THE SCIEi\CE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 nature wliat it has had aiven to it to disclose. Fallen 
 man perceives not that in his search after God, and of 
 a way of being just with Him, he is acting under the 
 delusions of the ''carnal mind," which is not and 
 cannot be receptive of the pure spiritual, and subject 
 to the law of God. " The natural man receiveth not 
 the things of the Spirit of God : for they are foolish- 
 ness unto him ; neither can he know them, because 
 they are spiritually discerned." Were man perfect, 
 the intuitional consciousness would perceive the 
 Divine that is in himself, but not what of God is 
 above or beyond him ; and were the God-conscious 
 faculty of his spirit alive, it would ever perceive the 
 manifestation of God's indwelling presence, but even 
 then it could not discover what He kept to Himself. 
 Neither reason nor speculation can discover " the 
 secret things" of God. Speculation can reveal to 
 man the conceptions of his own fancy, but nothing- 
 more. Man cannot create God in idea any more 
 than in substance. Strive as he may, man cannot of 
 himself conceive God. Man has not the Absolute 
 within him, but only a capacity for the indwelling 
 of God, and therefore cannot produce God from the 
 womb of his conception. He can only realise fellow- 
 ship with God through means of His indwelling 
 manifestations. Reason cannot perceive God in His 
 works ; she can only trace indications of the Al- 
 mighty's footprints in creation ; she can draw her 
 inferences from His works, but she cannot reveal 
 God in Himself to the heart of man. Man cannot 
 by speculation arrive at correct conceptions of any- 
 
INABILITY. 171 
 
 tliinff. In order to knowledoe lie must observe 
 correctly and deduce reasonably. He must read the 
 facts of external nature and of internal consciousness. 
 Let him from fancy or speculation attempt to map 
 out the ocean bed or the planetary system, and what 
 a different chart of the mighty deep, or of the 
 mechanism of the heavens, would he produce from the 
 true. Let the untutored mind of man try to form 
 to itself an idea of anything he has neither seen nor 
 heard described, and how different will his concep- 
 tions of the thing be from the reality. And if such 
 be the case with his conceptions of the finite and 
 material, how far short must they come of reaching 
 up to the realities of God. Man without the aid of 
 instruction cannot arrive at correct views of matter 
 and spirit in the finite, how much less without 
 revelation can he attain to clear and compreliensive 
 conceptions of the being and designs of God. Man 
 cannot, then, by the aid of reason repent and turn to 
 God. 
 
 If, then, man cannot by any effort of his own dis- 
 cover a way of repentance, can he prevail upon God 
 to manifest to him a power to reconcile his dis- 
 ordered condition % This, however, is not what the 
 "natural man" desires. What he is anxious about 
 is not a deliverance from self or selfishness, but from 
 the consequences of sin. After a way of deliverance 
 from this the nations have blindly wandered, but 
 wandered in vain. In search of a favourable mani- 
 festation from heaven, man has gone to his idols with 
 earnest entreaty, severe penances, and expensive 
 
172 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 sacrifices ; Ijut ^vliat coulil idolatry do in tlie mani- 
 festations of the Divine, or in the revelation of a 
 readjusting, reconciling power from God ? For while 
 an idol is nothing in itself, it is, as before said, a fearful 
 reality in the thoughts, apprehensions, and realisations 
 of superstitious man. Man's efforts to induce God to 
 look favourably on him have plunged him from 
 high conceptions of God into degrading notions of 
 the Divine, and inured him in the practice of fiendish 
 deeds. Fallen man has conceived of God as an 
 avenging tyrant only to be moved to compassion 
 by the sight of mangled carcasses, bloody offerings, 
 self-inflicted penances, and loud and long supplica- 
 tions. And Avhat are such conceptions of the heart 
 of God but caricatures of the Holy One ? Man has 
 not presented his deeds to Heaven as exponents of 
 his deep conviction of spiritual disorder, of his eager 
 desire to escape from the bondage of the " carnal 
 mind," and the pledge of his resolution to deny self, 
 but as a spectacle of wretchedness to move that Love 
 to pity, which never has but pitied and yearned 
 with deep emotion and earnest desire to embrace 
 him. It is not in the faith of God's j)urpose to re- 
 concile man 'to Himself through the manifestation of 
 Divine self-sacrificing Love that man looks throuMi 
 sacrifice to God, but to pro])itiate a revengeful Deity, 
 to induce Heaven to indu]<j:;e him in his own desires 
 and ways of life. He does not with earnest desire 
 supplicate God to be merciful to him with a view 
 to have his inner life moulded after the image of 
 the Divine, but to induce the unchanging God to act 
 
INABILITY. 173 
 
 toward Lim in a way suggested by liis feelings, which 
 are not heavenward. Can, then, the cherishing and 
 expressing of such desire induce God to manifest the 
 readjusting power of His mercy, "grace reigning 
 throuo;h righteousness unto eternal life"? Fallen 
 man "desires not God, nor the knowledge of His 
 ways." The " natural man " has no desire for the 
 truly Divine, no longing after the realisation of 
 the melting, quickening, transforming power of 
 infinite self-sacrificing Love. No, he only seeks to 
 induce God to let him alone in the enjoyment of 
 self. And is God to indulge man in such desire ? 
 That be far from Him. 
 
 Man, then, is helpless, utterly helpless in the matter 
 of his own deliverance from the consequences of his 
 transgression of the Divine law. He cannot by 
 any efibrt of his own escape from his inner conflict. 
 He cannot bring back God into his soul, nor can he 
 of himself enter into reconciliation with God; and if 
 he is to be rescued from his ruin, that rescue must 
 be effected by a higher manifestation of Divine love 
 than creation affords, for as in the attractions of 
 matter, so in the allurings of spirit, the power ade- 
 quate to raise a body must be greater than that 
 which has been found insufiicient to retain it in its 
 former position. The most illustrious of the sons of 
 philosophy and religion, from Socrates to Hamilton, 
 have acknowledged that man is unable to deliver 
 himself, and requires to look to a higher power than 
 his own. "But where is wisdom to be found? and 
 where is the place of understanding ? Man knoweth 
 
174 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 not the price thereof; neither is it to he found in 
 the land of tlie living. The depth saith, It is not 
 in me : and the sea saith, It is not with me. . . . Then 
 did He see it, and declare it ; He prepared it, yea, and 
 searched it out. And nnto man He said, Behold, the 
 fear of the Lord, that is wisdom ; and to depart from 
 evil is understandinof." 
 
( 175 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 RECON CILIA TION. 
 
 Reconciliation between God and man is not like tlie 
 formation of acquaintance l)etween parties formerly 
 unknown to eacli otlier, nor is it like an agreement, 
 between individuals at variance, to sink in oblivion 
 their matter of difference. Reconciliation is the 
 return of those who were once at enmity to the most 
 cordial and intimate friendship ; it is the seeing the 
 matter of former dispute in the same light, regarding 
 it with the same sentiments, acting toward it on the 
 same principles. Reconciliation embraces the entire 
 life — every emotion of the heart, every thought of the 
 mind, every movement of the will. This reconcilia- 
 tion is not a forcing into distasteful agreement on the 
 one side, or the reluctant compliance with conditions 
 of union on the other. There is indeed a drawing on 
 the one side, and a complying with conditions on the 
 other ; but this drawing is all in harmony with the 
 principles and requirements of spiritual and respon- 
 sible life, and this compliance is all in strict accordance 
 with the unfettered movements of free agency. 
 
 Reconciliation presupposes mutual variance — injury 
 done on the one hand, and dissatisfaction felt on the 
 other. If there be no wTong done, there can be no 
 dissatisfaction felt at wrong-doing; or if wrong be 
 
176 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LI IE. 
 
 clone, and no dissatisfaction felt on account of it, 
 then there can he no variance or strife. In order to 
 variance or strife there must not only be wrong done 
 on the one hand, hnt likewise dissatisfaction felt with 
 it on the other. Eeconciliation involves a chano'c of 
 intercourse arisino^ out of a change of feelin<T : this 
 chano;e of feelins^ arises out of a chanofc of relation, 
 and this change of relation arises out of a change of 
 action. And this action must be in the inverse order 
 of the conduct producing the discord. In producing 
 the discord, man is the first mover and chief actor ; 
 but in effectinoc reconciliation, God is the first mover 
 and chief actor. In producing the discord, man dis- 
 turbs the existing harmony by acting inconsistently 
 Avith the rules of action and the j)rinciples of inter- 
 course ; in effecting reconciliation, God acts so as to 
 re-establish harmony by readjusting the principles 
 which were disturbed by the injury. In effecting this 
 reconciliation, God cannot of course act inconsistently 
 with Himself. He cannot violate any one j^'i'inciple 
 of right, nor lose one object by attempting to gain 
 another ; He cannot gratify one class of emotions 
 at the expense of another, nor can He maintain one 
 set of principles by injuring another. On the other 
 hand, we cannot suj^pose that God will require of 
 man anything that would do violence to any one 
 principle of his nature or relation of his life. He will 
 not recpiire of man anything that would at all injure 
 him, or require of him what would do the least injury 
 to another. It follows, therefore, that reconciliation 
 must be propounded by God to man in a clear and 
 
RE CONCILIA TION. 1 7 7 
 
 distinct manner, in sncli a form as sliall arrest his 
 attention, exhibit to him the heiglit of his offending, 
 and the character of the Being he has injured, as also 
 the facihties provided for his reconciliation. If, more- 
 over, an adequate basis of reconciliation has been 
 j^rovided by God and propounded to man, and if man 
 fidly and cordially accepts of the terms and closes in 
 with the basis of reconciliation, then reconciliation is 
 complete, and the intercourse interrupted is once 
 more restored and rendered more close and endearinee, 
 and man, learning from experience of the past, will 
 be more circumspect in the future, and thus a friend- 
 ship, deep and augmenting, will bind man to God in 
 bonds of everlasting love and gratitude. 
 
 As long as a creature acts in accordance with the 
 end of his being and the Avill of his Creator, God can 
 have no fault to find with him ; between this creature 
 and God there can be nothing but fellowship up to 
 the full measure of his capacity, but the moment a 
 creature acts in opposition to the law of his life, he 
 must injure himself and rob the Creator of His glory. 
 From the very nature of moral being the creature, by 
 transgressing the law of his life, deprives himself of 
 the consciousness of innocence and the sense of the 
 Divine approbation ; he awakens within himself the 
 consciousness of guilt, and introduces into his inner 
 being the elements of conflict ; the moral agent cannot 
 rest in the consciousness of wrong-doing ; as already 
 indicated he will endeavour to roll over on his Creator 
 the blame of his transgression, and try to vindicate 
 himself at the expense of God. Now, to such con- 
 
 M 
 
1 78 THE SCIENCE OE SPIRITUAL LITE. 
 
 duct on tlie part of tlic sinner, God cannot be indif- 
 ferent. He condemns and holds the sinner guilty 
 because of his attempt to remove the burden from his 
 own shoulders. In the variance that subsists between 
 man and God, the sinner has been the first and chief 
 actor; he has set himself in opposition to God and 
 God to him, and if God were actuated by hatred, 
 revenge, or any similar sentiment, reconciliation 
 between God and the sinner would be an impos- 
 sibility. If there is to be reconciliation between God 
 and the sinner, God must be the first mover and chief 
 actor in effecting it, for if the very ground of disputa- 
 tion between God and the sinner be as it is, the 
 attempt of the sinner to justify himself by rolling the 
 blame of his transgressions over on God, it is obvious 
 that the sinner will not be the first to seek reconcilia- 
 tion ; but granting for a moment that he were the first 
 to desire reconciliation, he could do nothing in the 
 way of procuring a basis or of propounding the terms 
 of reconciliation, and thus, unless God desires it, there 
 can be no reconciliation. 
 
 Further, if God desires a reconciliation with the 
 sinner, Pie must provide an adequate basis, and 
 come to the sinner with the terms of reconciliation. 
 This l)asis, as already indicated, must be worthy of 
 God, and suitable to the condition of the sinner. 
 It must in no wise compromise any perfection of 
 the Divine character. Nor can this basis of recon- 
 ciliation require anything of the sinner that would 
 be inconsistent with his wcllbeing. It must upliold, 
 in all their integrity, the perfections of the Divine 
 
RECONCILIA TION. 1 7 9 
 
 nature, law, and government ; it must afford an 
 exhibition of God's love to humanity, and give a 
 display of God's desire to be at peace Avith the 
 sinner. It must, likewise, be adequate to meet all 
 the sinner's wants, and able to fire him with devout 
 love to God, to remove from him the consciousness 
 of guilt, to unite his convictions Avith the eternal 
 and immutable principles of truth and righteous- 
 ness, to show to him how even sin may be made 
 an occasion of glory to God, and of good to His 
 creatures. 
 
 If the basis of reconciliation fail in any one of 
 these conditions, it cannot be a means of reconciling 
 man and God ; but if it meets all these conditions, it 
 will be sufficient for that purpose. This basis must 
 be propounded to the sinner by God, in terms which 
 Avill show to him the consequences of his continuing 
 in enmity, and the blessedness of his being recon- 
 ciled to God. And, then, if the sinner fully and 
 cordially close in with the terms of reconciliation 
 propounded, and take up his position on the basis 
 provided, God will be fully satisfied with him, and 
 he with God. The reconciliation will be complete, 
 and the friendship one that will ever grow and 
 prove increasingly delightful. 
 
 Any basis of reconciliation propounded by God 
 Avill not be such as admits of, or in any Avay provides 
 for, any alteration of the substance, or change in the 
 constitution of the transgressor's nature ; that Avould 
 be to destroy the transgressor and make another 
 creature in his stead. Nor can it admit of any 
 
I So THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 alteration of tlie powers, or change in the faculties 
 of the human spirit, for that woiihl be to change 
 the constitution of man ; nor can it allow of an 
 alteration of the circumstances, or change of the 
 external condition of human life, for that would he 
 equivalent to placing the transgressor in another 
 objective world, and a virtual admission on the part 
 of God that He was not just and benignant in the 
 formation of the old. 
 
 Eeconciliation, if effected between God and man, 
 must be accomplished by producing a change in the 
 inner life of man. And this chano^e in the nature 
 and life of the transgressor can be effected only by 
 procuring a change in his relations to the law and 
 demand of the Divine administration. In order to 
 the sinner's reconciliation with God, he must be 
 rescued from the bondage of Satan, and delivered 
 from the condemnation of the law with its consequent 
 apprehension of wrath, he must also be freed from false 
 and erroneous conceptions of the Divine ; and this 
 can be accomplished in the sinner, only by leadnig 
 him to see a manifestation on God's part of mercy 
 and grace, and he can be led to see this only througli 
 means of awakening in him love to God, which may 
 enable him to perceive the wondrous lovingkindness 
 of the Lord in forgiving his sin, and inspiring him 
 with longings after the likeness and friendship of 
 God. 
 
 And this change can be effected in the sinner 
 by no display of mere authority, for consider what 
 the change is, viz., from enmity to love, from 
 
RECONCILIATION. i8i 
 
 darkness to liglit, from aversion to zeal, from 
 sympathy witli self to sympathy with God. It 
 is clear that no mere display of authority can effect 
 such a change. Authority— the right of command 
 l)clono-s to God from the very nature of the case ; but 
 when authority requires to be prominently set forth 
 and formally enjoined, the formal injunction of 
 authority proves that there is a lack of sympathy in 
 the subject to the sovereign— of will with duty in 
 those over whom the authority requires to be enjoined. 
 The inculcation of authority in such cases is not likely 
 to awaken sympathy in the subjects of it. God, e.g., 
 is possessed of all the authority He ever had, and He 
 always put forth His authority in its every legitimate 
 form. He has given forth His law and enjoined His 
 commands with all its solemn sanction, yet, notwith- 
 standing all this, the effect has in no case been the 
 drawimr of the rebellious towards Himself. On the 
 contrary, it has only at most made them to crouch 
 before Him like slaves, as did the Israelites before 
 Him at Mount Sinai. The most august sovereign 
 on earth never yet put down a rebellion by any 
 promulgation of his authority or mere announcement 
 of right. No announcement of authority on earth or 
 in hell ever has, or ever will, change a slave into a 
 child, a rebel into a loyal subject. And he who 
 would attempt to effect this change by such means, 
 would manifest folly instead of wisdom ; which God 
 cannot do. Mere authority has no power to change 
 the heart of rebel man. 
 
 Nor could this change be effected by a mere dis- 
 
1 82 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 play of force ; liatred caniiot be expelled, nor love 
 awakened in the iiuman breast by any display of 
 force, however energetic ; and with reverence be it 
 spoken, were God to attempt this change by any such 
 means, the attempt would only produce the opposite 
 result. It w^ould make the sinner recoil from God 
 aud cling the more tenaciously to self. Love is a 
 voluntary act of the soul, and can be drawn into 
 exercise only by a display of the loveable, and no 
 voluntary act of the free spirit can be compelled 
 by force. 
 
 Moreover, this change from hatred to love, and love 
 to hatred, cannot be effected by wrath, i.e., the inflic- 
 tion of merited sufferino;. One of the elements in the 
 feeling of dread and dislike which the rebellious have 
 for Supreme power is their aversion to pain, and the 
 pain arising from the consciousness of guilt in the 
 operation of the reactionary powers of nature must 
 be dreaded, and He who sustains this power in 
 operation must be disliked. 
 
 The very dread of such infliction makes the being 
 Avho is suspected of inflicting the punishment hated. 
 Let the reader keep before his mind the fact that 
 ''the carnal mind" is enmity against God, and that 
 the very nature of enmity from the human side is to 
 make its possession view in the worst jDOSsible light 
 the doings of the hated. And then let him consider 
 what must Ije the effect of a disj)lay of severity by 
 that God who is the object of the enmity of the 
 "carnal mind." The effect in the suspicious and 
 rebellious can only be to exasperate their enmity and 
 
RECONCILTATION. 183 
 
 confirm tliem in tlieir rebellion. It is not conceivable 
 that it should awaken love and confidence in the 
 breasts of the haters towards the hated. A sovereign 
 may put down a rebel force in arms against him ; he 
 may restrain the violence of the lawless ; he may 
 even convince them of the futility of their effort to 
 disturb his government, but this will not convert their 
 hatred into luve. And even this suppression can 
 only be of the physical, not of the spiritual. The 
 opposition of the rebel spirit can never be put down 
 by mere force, save in annihilation. The efforts to 
 supj)ress rebellion by force has never drawn out the 
 hearts of the rebellious in affection to the ruler. The 
 display of severity in vengeance will never convert 
 the rebel into a loyal subject. What, for example, has 
 been the effect of Divine wrath on those on wdiom 
 severity has fallen — on Satan and his legions ? Let the 
 temptation in paradise, in the Avilderness, and the 
 hellish assault in the hour and power of darkness 
 declare. 
 
 A\'e have no reason to believe that the tor- 
 ments of hell will allay the passions, subdue the 
 enmity, and fire the hearts with love and gratitude 
 of those who are shut up in chains of darkness. 
 On the contrary, the effect is only confirmed and 
 embittered enmity on their part. To think other- 
 wise is to believe in opposition to the evidence of 
 experience. If the wrath of God could lead to 
 repentance, then would there be no need of an 
 Atonement, there could be no eternity of punishment 
 and little glory in the salvation of sinners. Enmity 
 
1 84 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 would not only exhaust itself by its own exercise, but 
 convert itself into love. 
 
 On tlie other hand, clemency or mere indulgence 
 cannot effect this change. We freely grant that 
 the tendency of goodness on susceptible hearts is to 
 awaken in them the feelings of love and gratitude ; 
 goodness is of the cpality of loveliness. Hence, says 
 the Apostle, " the goodness of God leadeth thee to 
 repentance." But the goodness of which Paul speaks 
 is the goodness of God in connection with the dis- 
 pensation of mercy. Our inquiry, however, is not 
 concerning the effects of goodness in connection with 
 a dispensation of grace, but of goodness or favours 
 bestowed on rebel spirits. Goodness disjDlayed to- 
 wards the fallen in connection with mercy will not of 
 itself lead to repentance. The goodness, z.e., kindness, 
 bestowed on the young man that came to Christ 
 inquiring what good thing he should do to inherit 
 eternal life, did not lead him to repentance. The 
 distino-uishino; favours conferred on the nation of the 
 Jews did not bring it to repentance. The abundance 
 of gold discovered in California and in the Australian 
 Colonies, with their natural beauty, fertility, and 
 salubrious climate, has not led those who most bene- 
 fited by such to repentance, but have intoxicated 
 them with vanity and forgetfulness of God. If such 
 goodness, in connection with the proclamation of 
 mercy, has failed to bring men to repentance, what 
 would have been the condition of mankind if God 
 had not cursed the ground for man's sake, but had 
 lavished His favours in causing it to bring forth in 
 
RECONCILIATION. 185 
 
 unbounded luxuriance ? What lias generally been the 
 character of those who in all ages have been nursed 
 on the lap of fortune ? Those of them that have 
 realised repentance will be the first to declare that it 
 was not the abundance of good things, but the grace 
 of God, that led them to repentance. If, while 
 restrained by a merciful dealing with them, men 
 have been proud boasters, inventors of evil, what 
 would have been their condition if they had been 
 left to themselves amid the fulness of Nature's 
 lavished gifts ? The goodness of God to man in 
 Eden's loveliness failed to retain him in friendship 
 with God ; hence we may conclude that no increased 
 manifestations of favours bestowed through Nature's 
 operations can draw him back into that friendship. 
 Let a sovereign open his treasures and lavish his gifts 
 in showing favours to rebels, and it will soon appear 
 that this will not change them into loyal subjects. 
 The gentleness and kindness of Louis XYL of France 
 is proof on this point. Lavished favours heaped on 
 rebels is likely to lead them to reason thus with 
 themselves : " We have brought the tyrant to his 
 senses, and now that we know how to make him act 
 as he ought to do, we will not lose sight of our 
 accjuired knowledge and power ; " and thus they 
 would be led to despise him the more. Divine 
 favours lavished on sinning man would only have 
 been received with brute indifference towards the 
 giver, and would have led them to think in their 
 hearts and to say, "Now that by sin we have bettered 
 our condition in securimr hi<2;h and numerous advan- 
 
i86 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 tao-es, we sliall o-o on in tlie course we liave begun, 
 our ways are more advantageous to us tlian God's." 
 Mere goodness or clemency in itself cannot lead 
 sinners to repentance. And even were clemency 
 capable of itself to lead men to repentance, it is 
 a question as to whether it would have been con- 
 sistent with the character of God to have bestowed 
 such upon them. The dignity of His character, the 
 honour of His government, the wellbeing of His 
 creatures, might thereby have been compromised. 
 In fact, it would have been equivalent to a destruc- 
 tion of the nature of things and the authority of 
 God thus to have made the caprice and disobedience 
 of the transgressor the principle of the highest 
 wellbeing. 
 
 Thus we see that the mere display of authority, 
 the mere exercise of force, the mere manifestation 
 of clemency, could not have led sinners to repentance, 
 nor have softened their impenitent hearts, and filled 
 them with love and gratitude to God. On the 
 contrary, it appears that these things would only 
 have conferred a premium on the self-will of the 
 creature, filling him with pride and haughtiness. 
 How, then, we may ask, if repentance be possible, 
 was it to be effected in the heart of the sinner? 
 AYas there anything which God could bring to bear 
 on the heart of man which in the nature of things 
 was fitted to effect this change in him ? Let us look 
 at the matter a little closer, and see if we can dis- 
 cover anything that was calculated to produce such 
 a chaniie. 
 
RE CONCILIA HON. 1 8 7 
 
 In order to cause au intelligent being to hate wliat 
 lie loves, and to love what he hates, in accordance 
 with every faculty and function of his nature, he 
 must be convinced that what he is required to hate 
 is of itself hateful, and what he is asked to love is 
 in itself loveable. There must be displayed before 
 him the hideous character and loathsome nature of 
 the hateful, and the lovely qualities and loving 
 character of the loveable, also the direful nature of 
 the one, and the Divine character of the other, as 
 bearing specially on himself. And these qualities 
 must not only be fully displayed, but so conspicu- 
 ously manifested as to arrest his observation, and 
 fix his attention. For it should be borne in mind, 
 that the sinner is not disposed to look on the things 
 of God, nor to undergo the needful change. And 
 further, this manifestation must be made so as to 
 display the things referred to in conjunction, for it 
 is only in their being seen together, that the effect 
 can be j)roduced. But how can this be accomplished ? 
 How can the tendency of sin, to increase the misery 
 of the sinner, be displayed without subjecting him to 
 actual suffering, and exasperating his enmity, or how 
 can the love and loveableness of God, as bearing 
 on the sinner, be displayed Avithout lavishing His 
 favours upon him, and consequently inflating him 
 with pride and arrogance. 
 
 Repentance, the topic on which we have already 
 dwelt, can be effected in the sinner only by a striking 
 display of the loveableness of the Divine character, in 
 God's love to man, in contrast with the hideous 
 
1 88 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 nature of sin in the sinner as displaying its enmity 
 to God. In otlier words, by a manifestation of the 
 principles of the Divine character and government, in 
 contrast with the real nature of sin. How, then, 
 were all these characteristics to be displayed together 
 in such a manner as to effect repentance in the sinner. 
 Had the King of kings adopted the method of earthly 
 monarchs, in displaying His love of justice, and His 
 manifestation of clemency by selecting a few of the 
 more notorious of the rebels, with the view of making 
 an exam^^le of them, while He extended pardon to 
 the mass, that might have been a display of love 
 to perhaps a large majority of the rebels, but whether 
 it would have been a manifestation of real justice, 
 we do not stop to inquire ; we have no hesitation, 
 however, in declaring that it would not have appeared 
 to be just in the estimation of the condemned. Nor 
 would the condign punishment of the few liaA^e 
 softened the hearts of the many. Let the reader keep 
 before his mind the fact, that it is with rebels we are 
 dealing, and that it is of the enmity of the " carnal 
 mind " that we are speaking. It is well known that 
 enmity leads its subject to put the worst possible 
 construction on the doings of the person against 
 whom the enmity is entertained. If, then, God had 
 manifested His favour to some, by the punishment of 
 others, what would have been the effect of such an 
 act on the mind of rebellious man, but to confirm 
 him in his enmity to God ? He would have looked 
 on such a deed as mere tyranny, and would only the 
 more have hated God. Besides this course could 
 
RE CONCILIA TION. i S 9 
 
 never have laid a basis of mercy to tlie wliole race ; 
 tliose bearing the penalty, at least, must have been 
 excluded. And if the whole race had borne the pen- 
 alty, none could have been saved. Thus, then, if 
 sinners were to be brought to repentance, it could only 
 be through means of substitution. They cannot 
 be brought to repentance through anything of their 
 own doing. If a portion should suffer the penalty 
 that portion would not only of necessity be lost, but 
 those bearing the penalty could not exert a renewing 
 influence on the others. If, then, a substitute could 
 be foimd, Avhose bearing the penalty might atone for 
 the sins of men, and at the same time convince 
 the sinner of God's love of justice, His hatred of sin, 
 and His gracious disposition to the sinner, then all 
 mioht turn out well. 
 
 It is to this last phase of substitution that we 
 wish particularly to point the reader's attention. AYe 
 do not, at present, refer to a holy and voluntary 
 substitute, but to the substitute whose sufferings 
 were adequate to convince the sinner of the awful 
 consequences of sin, of God's determination to sustain 
 the being of the sinner, and the operation of all the 
 powers of his nature, in whatever relation they were 
 brought, and at the same time display such a gracious 
 disposition and purpose of mercy towards the rebel, 
 as was fitted to draw him out of his enmity, into 
 love and gratitude to God. In this substitute, justice 
 must be displayed so as to carry awe to the sinner's 
 mind, and strike terror into his hearts, so as to alarm 
 him about his state, and prove to him that God is 
 
I90 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 the unalteraLle enemy of sin, and is determined to 
 })unisli every transgression. Witliout such a con- 
 viction lodged in the breast of the sinner, he will 
 never bestir himself about the consequences of his 
 sin, for the effect of sin on his mind is not only 
 to cause him to love sin and to hate God, but 
 also to make him think that God is not so strict 
 a,s He is said to be, and that, therefore, he may pos- 
 sibly escape the punishment of his sin. Some awful 
 display of the fixed and unalterable determination of 
 God to punish sin must, therefore, be afforded to the 
 sinner. Such a display, in short, as is fitted to con- 
 vince him of the real nature of sin, and its insepar- 
 able connection with suffering, for it must steadily be 
 kept in mind that the sinner is in love with sin, and 
 is inclined to look upon it in the most favourable 
 lio-ht. 
 
 Had it been consistent with the princij^les of Divine 
 justice, or the nature of substitution, for God to have 
 selected any one or any number of the higher order of 
 intelligences, to have inflicted on them the jDenalty of 
 human transgression, what would have been the effect 
 on rebel man ? — men who from their enmity are prone 
 to take the worst possible view of God's character 
 and doings. The result on their minds would, no 
 doubt, have been the same or similar to what it would 
 have been had the punishment been inflicted on some 
 or on all of themselves ; their rebel hearts would only 
 have regarded God in such a transaction as an Omni- 
 potent Tyrant, sporting Himself with the miseries of 
 
RE CONCILIA TION. 1 9 1 
 
 His creatures, taking pleasure in the sulTerings of 
 helpless and unoffending beings, and thus would only 
 have hated Him the more. Such procedure on the 
 part of God would not have conveyed a salutary im- 
 pression to their minds ; they would have looked up(jn 
 the whole transaction as a capricious act of despotic 
 power, and would have said, This is further injustice, — 
 He has dealt harshly with us for disobeying His com- 
 mand, and now He delights Himself in exercising a 
 capricious tyranny over His innocent and unoffending 
 offspring. Or suppose it might have had the effect of 
 strikintf terror into their hearts, and conviction into 
 their minds of God's determination to punish sin, and 
 of favour to themselves, such an impression would 
 not have had the (;ff(3ct of inspiring their souls witii 
 fa-ateful and adorin^^ love to God ; it might have 
 alarmed but could not have allured them. If it had 
 not have driven them from God in despair, it would 
 only have brought them into His presence as trembling 
 slaves. But that man may be led to repentance, he must 
 not only be filled with hatred to sin, he must be fired 
 with love to God, and implicit confidence in Him ; 
 and, therefore, something more than an awful mani- 
 festation of God's unalterable determination to punisli 
 sin must be afforded to the sinner. Over and above 
 this there must be a striking and convincing proof of 
 God's love to the sinner himself; such a proof as is 
 not only fitted to drive him from sin, but also to draw 
 him to God. The point now to be considered is God's 
 power and wisdom in reference to the procuring such 
 
192 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE, 
 
 a substitution as could display to man tins twofold 
 manifestation, and effect a change in the inner of his 
 LeinfT, with a view to brines him to a reconciliation 
 with God. To the examination of this topic the 
 following chapter is devoted. 
 
( ^93 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 
 
 An effective power of reconciliation must be sucli as 
 can calm man's inner discord and dispel his internal 
 darkness. This power must make known to man liow 
 he is to rid himself of his apprehension of wrath and 
 of his sense of blameworthiness. It must be able to 
 readjust his relations to God, harmonise the powers, 
 and consecrate the functions of his life to the service 
 of God. It must be a power which Avill adapt the 
 outgoing-s of the Divine to the conditions of the 
 human, and open up the capacity of the human to 
 the inflowings of the Divine, and bring back God into 
 the soul. 
 
 Man is conscious of a deep craving of spirit after 
 the Infinite and Eternal, but he will not believe that 
 by his transgression he has banished God from his 
 soul. He will allow the fact of his disobedience, but 
 not the blameworthiness of his transo-ression. Were 
 he to allow this latter, he could see no esca^^e from 
 the dreaded realm of despair. And in this region 
 he will not dwell nor rest with satisfaction ; and, 
 seeing no other way of escape from this dreaded con- 
 sciousness than by denying his guilt, this he is ever 
 
 N 
 
194 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 striving to do in one form or another, but especially 
 by liis manifold attempts to justify himself in his 
 wrong doing. 
 
 Hence man cannot of himself repent, nor can he 
 cease vindicating himself and opposing God ; he can- 
 not open up the cnpacities of his soul to the reception 
 of the inflowings of the Divine, and in the embrace of 
 his heart rise to lay hold of God. And thus a read- 
 justing or reconciling medium cannot j)roceed from 
 man, or be discovered by him. If, then, man is to be 
 justified with God, the work of readjustment must 
 begin with God, and the power of reconciliation must 
 proceed from the Almighty ; and this power must 
 come to man, not through the natural, but through 
 the spiritual. Its roots are not in the likings of the 
 carnal, but in the self-sacrificings of the Divine. 
 
 Leaving now the ground of surmise, and setting 
 aside all antecedent inferences as to the qualifications 
 which an adequate power of atonement, or basis of 
 reconciliation, must possess, we proceed to observe 
 that an atonement has been provided and manifested 
 to the world. A new power has been introduced into 
 the administration of the Most High, a power ade- 
 quate to accomplish all that the occasion demands. 
 This power has been manifested to the world in the 
 person of the only-begotten of the Father, God reveal- 
 ing Himself in His Son Christ, the power of God 
 and the wisdom of God, the Light of the World, the 
 Life of Men. In Christ is revealed to sinners all that 
 is necessary to their redemption ; and all that is given 
 to men is given to them in Christ crucified. All 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 195 
 
 the Divine glory converges in the Cross of Christ, and 
 from that Cross it is reflected in bright effidgence. 
 In connection with the Cross of Christ we have set 
 hcfore us the incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and 
 ascension, of the human in union with the Divine. 
 We have exhibited to us the design of God to glorify 
 the human, through its union with the Divine. 
 
 Sec. I. In the Cross we have brought near to us 
 an outlet from the realm of despair. Eternal ruin is 
 so awful a thing to contemplate, that it cannot be 
 looked full in the face by the sinner. It can be 
 viewed calmly by the guilty lover of wellbeing only 
 in the mirror of the Cross, i.e., in the reflected light of 
 God's purpose, through means of His self-sacrificing- 
 love, to make sin an occasion of glorifying Himself 
 in the elevation of man, and of promoting the general 
 wellbeing of His creation. The guilty lover of well- 
 being must have it in his power to see how sin, by 
 which he has insulted the majesty of heaven, degraded 
 his humanity, and injured the creatures of God, can 
 be made to redound to the glory of God, the highest 
 elevation of himself, and the wellbeing of creation, ere 
 he can calmly view sin in its enormity. Until he 
 sees an outlet from despair and remorse, he cannot 
 realise the fact of his sinninof. Until the sinner is 
 able to see how sin can, through means of Christ's 
 self-sacrificing grace, glorify the Eedeemer Himself 
 and promote the general good, he cannot repose in 
 the thought of the just sufi'ering in the room of the 
 unjust, nor rejoice in being a partaker in Christ's 
 
196 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 sufferings, nor joy in God tlirongli our Lord Jesns 
 Christ. 
 
 Humanity under the power of tlie carnal mind is 
 capable of tlie deepest degradation and meanness, 
 but under tlie government of self-sacrificing love it 
 is a noble existence, incapable of a mean conscious- 
 ness. It is susceptible only of an illustrious life and 
 honourable realisation. Hence, from the very nature 
 of the case, man cannot accept of a humiliating 
 deliverance, for how, then, could he become conscious 
 of that life wdiicli only a noble, self-denying spirit 
 can animate, and rise into fellowship with the 
 Divine. The thing is impossible ; he must be 
 excluded from this consciousness and fellowship by 
 the recollection of his guilt, and the conviction of 
 the meanness of his deliverance. In deliverance 
 from sin, the sinner must know and feel that sin is 
 but the disease of humanity, and that his deliverance 
 from it is a glorious work, ere he can realise the 
 Divine life. The lover of wellbeing, ere he can 
 realise an honourable consciousness in his deliver- 
 ance from selfish meanness, must have it in his 
 power to see that this deliverance is consistent Avith 
 wellbeing in all its relations and interests ; he must 
 be enabled to perceive that sin, though essentially 
 opposed to God, through the operation of His self- 
 sacrificingj love can be made to subserve the hiofher 
 display of His glory ; and that while sin is necessarily 
 destructive of the dignity and bliss of man, it can, 
 through means of the very fact, be made the occasion 
 of his higher elevation and bliss. By drinking in the 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 197 
 
 spirit of self-sacrificing love, the believer lives suck 
 a life as not only enables, but necessitates, his escape 
 from all consciousness of remorse and despair. The 
 truth disclosed in the death of Christ is the very 
 revelation of the Divine which the sinner needs, the 
 light alone in which he can look the awful fact of his 
 sin full in the face, and not to be tormented by the 
 recollection of his having sinned. 
 
 To the self-sacrificing love of God sin does 
 afford an occasion of bringing forth and displaying, 
 in far more conspicuous and godlike form, the highest 
 perfections and grandest designs of Godhead. Through 
 means of His father-love God can deliver the sinner 
 from his prison house of despair, and bring him into 
 the nearest possible assimilation to the Divine, fire 
 him with purest love and holiest gratitude, and nerve 
 him with self-sacrificins; and orodlike resolves. In 
 this way the sinner attains an elevation and blessed- 
 ness far beyond what he ever could otherwise have 
 reached. But for sin, as far at least as we can see, 
 there could have been no enmity in the human to the 
 Divine, and no room could have been left for a 
 display of God's love to the human in self-sacrifice. 
 He could never have given to His creatures such a 
 striking and conspicuous display of His divinest 
 perfections, nor have exhibited to the sinner the 
 fact that, by yielding himself up to God's grace, he 
 can imitate Christ, and become a fellow-worker with 
 Him in His glorious work. God, in bringing near 
 His grace to the sinner, gives him the most favourable 
 opportunity of acquiring a godlike character, and 
 
198 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 pursuing the most illustrious career possible to tlie 
 finite. 
 
 And yet this display of Divine grace in no way 
 alters the nature of sin. Sin is rebellion against 
 God, opposition to His j)erson, character, and govern- 
 ment ; it is loathsome in His sight, and exceedingly 
 hateful to Him. It can in no way be countenanced, 
 extenuated, or employed by God. If it could, to 
 that extent, it would cease to be sin, and God's self- 
 sacrificing love could not have been made apparent, 
 nor have been self-sacrificing love. Nor can sin in 
 itself be in any sense beneficial to the sinner ; it is 
 the disease, the death plague, the tormenting power 
 of his soul. Still, because of sin, the Cross of Christ 
 has been erected, which only the more conspicuously 
 enables God to manifest His purpose through self- 
 sacrificing love to make sin the occasion of working 
 out the glorious design of His eternal council, and 
 achieving the Godlike purpose of His heart. The 
 Cross of Christ displays, in the most striking manner, 
 the design of God, through the operation of His self- 
 sacrificing love, to take occasion from sin to elevate 
 man in the consciousness of the Divine life, to array 
 him in brighter glory, and to thrill him with deeper 
 bliss than otherwise he ever could have been made to 
 realise. The Cross of Christ shows the purpose of 
 God through the self-sacrifice of His love, to make 
 sin the occasion of revealing to man the way of 
 escape from sin, and through this deliverance rise to 
 the hio^hcst eminence the beejotten son can ever 
 reach. The Cross reveals to man how, that by 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 199 
 
 opening his heart to the love of God he is made 
 to glow with the most Godlike flame — the very love 
 of God itself. The manifestation of God's self-sacri- 
 ficino- love in the Cross shows to the sinner that 
 l)y yielding up his mind to the truth as it is in 
 Jesus, he can be made to comprehend, in the fullest 
 manner in which they can be revealed to finite 
 understanding, the deep things of God, and that by 
 entering into the fellowship of the gospel of the Son 
 of God, he is enabled to repose with Christ in the 
 heavenly. And thus the wants of his nature are 
 met, the restless cravings of his spirit are set at rest, 
 and the incessant longings of his soul abundantly 
 satisfied. The gulf between him and God annihilated, 
 he dwells in God, and God in him ; his apprehen- 
 sion of wrath is for ever banished ; and yet, in all 
 this, he sees that sin is the occasion only, and no- 
 thing more, of aflfordiug to the self-sacrificing love of 
 God the opportunity of accomplishing His gracious 
 designs. 
 
 Sec. II. But the sinner needs not only to have 
 set before him an outlet from despair ; he likewise 
 requires to have aflforded to him an insight into the 
 character and workings of the " carnal mind." The 
 natural man does not believe that he hates God, 
 hence his need of having an opportunity furnished 
 to him, so that he may perceive how sin in the heart 
 of fallen man acts towards God. He must have the 
 opportunity of seeing that, to the extent a man 
 is under the dominion of the "carnal mind" — he 
 
200 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 is opposed to God. The carnal mind in man is 
 the selfish effort of the sinner to be great and happy 
 in following the blind impulses of his godless heart, 
 and his endeavours to vindicate himself in these 
 efforts. Hence the sinner in acting from the carnal 
 acts under the sway of falsehood and the dominion of 
 *' the fatlier of lies." His notions of religion, dignity, 
 and happiness have no agreement with the eternal 
 and immutable principles of being and subjection to 
 the Divine. He strives to live above the restraint of 
 law, and is practically " without God in the world." 
 And hence the Apostle declares that " the carnal 
 mind is enmity against God, and is not subject to the 
 law of God, nor indeed can be." God cannot dwell 
 in the "carnal mind," nor can the "carnal mind" 
 draw near to Him in the love and reception of the 
 "Truth as it is in Jesus. God and "the carnal 
 mind " are distant from each other by the whole 
 diameter of being. " The carnal mind " can no more 
 hold fellowship with God in spiritual life than the 
 savage, with his savage habits and associations, can 
 become the civilised gentleman, no more than the 
 implacable foe can delight in holding friendly inter- 
 course with his enemy ; yet the mere professor of 
 religion imagines that, by taking up a profession of 
 the faith, displaying deeds of external morality, and 
 consecrating a few gifts, he is presenting acceptable 
 v/orship to God. Hence the necessity of affording 
 to the world in the liglit of its own doings an 
 unmistakable proof of the enmity of "the carnal 
 mind " to God, and of the impossibility to man under 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 201 
 
 its sway of drawing near to God, or of having any 
 affection for him. 
 
 Now the Cross of Calvary affords to the world this 
 insight into " the carnal mind." The Son of God, 
 suffering by the hands of sinners, is a mirror held up 
 by God before the eye of humanity, to enable man to 
 perceive the essential enmity of " the carnal mind," 
 and the bitter hatred of the sinful heart to all that 
 is holy and Godlike. Christ, the well beloved Son 
 of God, came into the world in the name of the 
 Father, claiming Divine honours, living a peaceful, 
 holy, and benevolent life, announcing Himself to be 
 the "Sent of the Father," "the Light of the world," 
 "the Life of men," and confirmed His claim with 
 " signs and wonders, and divers miracles, and gifts 
 of the Holy Ghost." He declared the Father-Heart, 
 He revealed the sublimest truth, He disclosed the 
 Divine purpose of God, He taught the loftiest 
 morality. He lived a devoted, pure, beneficent life. 
 " He went about doing good," " He did no sin, 
 neither was guile found in His mouth." He slighted 
 no one, He injured no one. He spake evil of no one, 
 He harboured no grudge toward any. He never 
 gave the least occasion of offence to any human 
 being ; He was incessant in His acts of kindness, 
 unwearied in His efforts to benefit, and ever ready to 
 bless men in every possible way. He never did but 
 what was fitted to draw out the hearts of men in 
 gratitude, and He did all that could be done to bind 
 men to Himself, in the bonds of admiration, grati- 
 tude, and love. Yet, what was the return which He 
 
202 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 met with, for all His devotedness to tlie glory of God 
 in the good of men ? He was seized by the hand of 
 violence, and wickedly condemned to the most cruel 
 and ignominious of deaths ; crucified between thieves, 
 amid derision, scorn, and contempt ; cast out of the 
 world with all the force of its bitter malignity, as 
 unworthy of a place among men. And what led men 
 to this treatment of the Son of God ? SimjDly " the 
 carnal mind," goaded on by diabolic hatred to the 
 Holy and Divine. This opposition arose from no 
 want of discernment in man to perceive and appreci- 
 ate Christ's deeds and benevolence ; from no want of 
 a sense of obligation to God, or a knowledge of right 
 and wrong in their doings ; from no want of a prin- 
 ciple of gratitude in their hearts, to enable them 
 to feel the obligations they were under to such a 
 benefactor. No ; it was the hatred of " the carnal 
 mind " to the S]Diritual and Divine, that blinded their 
 discernment, and stirred them up " to kill the Lord 
 of Glory." 
 
 Yet, notwithstanding the evidence thus afforded 
 of the enmity of "the carnal mind," man is unwilling 
 to believe, nay, very unwilling to admit, the enmity 
 of his fallen nature to God ; he positively refuses to 
 believe in the diabolic character of "the carnal mind." 
 On the contrary, this " carnal mind," in its vain and 
 false delusion, is the very idol of the world, the 
 imagined chief good which the sinner hugs to his 
 bosom, the " stranger " he loves, and " after which " 
 he " will go." The end which the sinner sets before 
 him, the god which the world worships ; the dreams, 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION/ 203 
 
 visions, imaofiuations wliicli the vain man clierislies; 
 tlie glory, honour, and immortality wliicli the ardent 
 of the earth pursue, these all are hut the delusions of 
 the " carnal mind." 
 
 To afford, then, the clearest evidence of the opposi- 
 tion and " enmity of the carnal mind " to God which 
 man is capable of receiving, God, in mercy to the 
 sinful race, sent His Son into the world ; placed Him 
 for the time in the power of sinful men, to let them 
 in the light of their oivn doings see in their treatment 
 of Him " the enmity of the carnal mind," and the 
 utter impossibility of man, while under its influence, 
 holding blissful fellowship with God. Yes, in the 
 Cross the world, by its own doings, has demonstrated 
 to itself, in the clearest possible light, the fact of the 
 hatred of fallen man to all that is holy and godlike. 
 No rational account, no satisfactory explanation of 
 the treatment which the Son of God received from 
 the world, can be given, but that which traces it to 
 the enmity of " the carnal mind ; " the hatred of the 
 corrupt heart of fallen man to God and the godlike. 
 " The carnal mind " in man could not, would not, 
 endure the presence of the Son of God. His holy 
 though silent rebuke of its ungodliness ; His earnest 
 and persevering endeavours to draw the life of man 
 away from the fatal power under which it lies, into 
 the power of God, was deeply offensive to it. Hence, 
 the world rose in rebellion against the demands 
 of God's Son. And in the name of God, in spite of 
 all the proof He afforded it of His Divine Sonship, 
 and in defiance of all the obligations under which He 
 
204 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 laid men, tliey rose up against Him and violently 
 thrust Him out from among tliem. They in con- 
 tempt spat upon Him, and smote Him upon the face 
 with their hands; they mantled Him in mock robes 
 of royalty ; they bowed the knee in derision of His 
 claims ; nailed Him to the " accursed tree,"" and 
 then, as He hung in the anguish of His atoning 
 death on their behalf, they reviled Him, scorned Him, 
 derided Him, and ridiculed Him in the depths of His 
 agonies. And those who took the lead in this 
 diabolical work, and who instigated others in this 
 infernal transaction, were the educated, polished, and 
 refined of the Jews, the custodians of God's truth, 
 the very men who boasted in being the most religious 
 of the earth, acting for the honour of the God of 
 tlieir fathers. And no explanation has been or can be 
 given of this diabolical treatment of the most meek, 
 generous, and beneficent of men, but "the enmity of 
 the carnal mind." The crucifixion of the Son of God 
 is a mirror hung by God before the eye of the world, 
 to enable man to look into himself, and learn what 
 is the true nature and character of the '^ carnal." 
 
 Sec. ni. But man requires not only an insight 
 into the working^s of the "carnal mind," but also a 
 clear and unmistakable demonstration of God's 
 unalterable determination to maintain and uphold 
 the powers of being in their full and unfettered 
 operation, into whatever combination they may be 
 1)rought, until they shall have effected the legitimate 
 result of their combination. Man needs this, so that 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 205 
 
 lie may be aroused to the consideration of liis latter 
 end, and this instructive lesson is afforded to liim in 
 the Cross of Calvary. 
 
 The death of Christ, as regards its j)erson, its 
 principles, its manifestations, and its results, stands 
 alone and unparalleled in the history of the world. 
 It was the death of the Incarnate One accomplished 
 through the malice of men and devils, and by the 
 appointment of heaven. " Him, being delivered by 
 the determinate council and foreknowledge of God, 
 ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified 
 and slain." The period of the death of Christ was 
 "the hour" of the "power of darkness," the crisis 
 of humanity, the era of a combination never to be 
 repeated again. " The prince of this world " came to 
 the " Son of God," assailed Him with his deadly 
 weapons, and then a terrible conflict ensued between 
 Satan and the Saviour. This struggle was in the 
 Soul of Emmanuel. The Soul of Jesus was the 
 theatre on which the great undertaking of Godhead 
 was achieved — a deed to which all the prior acts and 
 designs of the Almighty, with respect to man, looked 
 forward, and from which all the after-doings of the 
 Most Hiirh take their cast and colourino;. Yes : the 
 Soul of Emmanuel was the arena on which the 
 grandest design of Infinite wisdom was fully accom- 
 plished, the darling purpose of the Father-heart 
 completely achieved," a deed of Godhead veiled in 
 mystery from the gaze of mortal eye ; but a deed of 
 Godhead in which not only the highest interests of 
 men and the welfare of the universe, but also the 
 
2o6 THE SCIENCE QF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 glory of God, was deeply involved, and yet a mys- 
 tery wliicli will be disclosed in the clear visions of the 
 after-manifestations of the Divine. On the Soul of 
 Jesus the highest "principalities and powers" of 
 being met, displayed their true nature, and accom- 
 plished their respective parts. In that wondrous 
 combination enmity assailed love, evil encountered 
 good, impious rebellion grappled with pious devoted- 
 ness, and selfishness endeavoured to overcome self- 
 sacrificino; love. In this stranoe encounter the ano-er 
 of God against sin was fully displayed, the princi- 
 2)alities of darkness fully exposed, the principles of 
 the Divine government unswervingly maintained, the 
 manifestation of mercy given, the power of life 
 created, and the relations of the sj)iritual readjusted 
 and subordinated in a higher display of Divine per- 
 fection for the salvation of man. And in this 
 tremendous conflict justice had her sway, for every 
 agent, power, and influence had and did its own. 
 In this encounter with the " j^^^'^i'-'^ of darkness " the 
 Saviour stood alone ; "of the people there were none 
 with Him," and the Father stood afar from Him. 
 The Father, who sustained the majesty of the God- 
 l^ead in Himself, could not descend with the Son 
 into the conscious abasement of that hour ; for once, 
 and only for once, the consciousness of the Son wns 
 different from the consciousness of the Father, the 
 realisation of the Son the opposite of the realisation 
 of the Father, the subjective of the Son the reverse 
 of the subjective of the Father. And in this lies the 
 deep mystery of the cry upon the Cross : " Eloi, 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 207 
 
 Eloi, lama sabaclitbani." The dread realities of this 
 hour were such to the Incarnate One that even He, 
 with agonizing recoil, shrunk back from the encounter, 
 and persevered only because the salvation of man was 
 possible through no other instrumentality. 
 
 Without for one moment implying that there were 
 no other ends involved, and no other manifestations 
 given, in this conflict, we are fully warranted in 
 asserting that the death of Christ clearly shows that 
 it matters not by whom, or for what purpose, a 
 combination may be formed ; yet, if it be formed, 
 God will not go back and alter the course of things. 
 His own well -beloved Son, for His own glory, 
 may be brought, or rather go, into combination. 
 He may enter into society with wicked men, and 
 come under their power, and expose Himself to the 
 diabolic attacks of the agents of hell, and then He 
 may cry earnestly and repeatedly from the depths of 
 His bloody sweat and the anguish of His lonely spirit ; 
 but the Father will not interfere with, or alter in the 
 least, any of the powers brought into, and acting in, the 
 combination, but will secure that each one shall work 
 out its own leoitimate result. He will not interfere in 
 
 O 
 
 any way to weaken, restrain, or suspend any one of the 
 powers, or alter their relations, but will secure that 
 this, as every other combination, shall accomplish its 
 own end. 
 
 The agony and anguish of Christ in the garden 
 and on the Cross, the death of the Incarnate One, 
 taken in connection with His prayer in Gethsemane, 
 and His cry on the Cross, demonstrate in tlie clearest 
 
20 8 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 possible manner the unalterable determination of 
 the Father to secure to every element in their com- 
 bination its own, and in this way to work out the 
 legitimate result of every combination that may be 
 formed. The sentient or vital may dread the pain 
 and death, the pure and holy may shrink from con- 
 tact with the polluted and corrupt, the pious and 
 devout may recoil from the assault of the impious 
 and rebellious, the filial heart may agonise over the 
 withdrawment of the Father's countenance, but if 
 the resolution be formed, the choice made, and the 
 combination gone into even by the well-beloved Son 
 of God, for the glory of the Godhead in the redemp- 
 tion of the human, race, and by the will of the Father, 
 then must He meet the consequences and realise the 
 results of going into such combination, of placing 
 Himself within the reach of such powers, by going 
 into the sphere of their diabolic agency. God the 
 Father, for His own well -beloved Son, will not sus- 
 pend, alter, or destroy, any one of the agents or 
 powers in the combination. He may send His angel 
 to animate and encourage the faithftd in the hour of 
 conflict, but deliver from the power of the com- 
 bination till it shall have achieved its work He will 
 not. 
 
 If, then, such was the display of the Father's 
 determination in regard to combinations, and if such 
 was the experience of the Son of God in His com- 
 bination with the " powers of darkness," the dreadful 
 realisations of His soul, when voluntarily going into 
 combination with the principalities of evil, for the 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 209 
 
 accomiDlisliment of siicli an end, what must be the 
 results and the awful experience of those who, by 
 a life of sin, voluntarily go into combination with the 
 powers of darkness for their own selfish and worldly 
 ends, and who, when called upon by God iii mercy 
 to return to Him, refuse to come out of combina- 
 tion with such powers, to form one with love, light, 
 and life. Such persons must be left to realise the 
 full results of remaining in combination with the 
 powers of evil. " If these things be done in the 
 green tree, what shall be done in the dry 1 " The 
 great end of the Father, in sending His only and 
 well beloved Son into this tremendous encounter, was 
 to exhibit to man that if he will, in the progress of 
 life, ally himself in thought, feeling, association, and 
 consciousness with the powers of darkness, then there 
 is no possible escape from their strife and woe. God 
 cannot go back to restrain in any degree the operation 
 of the powers in combination ; be the victim who he 
 may, the consequences will not induce Him to inter- 
 fere, however terrible these may be. 
 
 Eeader, we point you not to the deluged earth, 
 to the world submerged in the yawning billows, to 
 the dark and dismal heavens pouring down their 
 devouring torrents, to the nether fountains of the 
 great deeps sending forth their gushing waters ; we 
 ask you not to listen to the loud wailings of the 
 perishing millions of our guilty race, crying in vain 
 for the assuaging of the waters, and as they looked 
 to the heavens for an answer to their prayers, seeing 
 
 only in the dark canopy above them the sackcloth of 
 
 
 
210 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 despair ; we point you not to tlie cities of tlic plains 
 enveloped in devouring fire; we point you not to 
 the death of the first-born of Egypt, to the destruc- 
 tion of Pharaoh's hosts in the Eed Sea, to the bodies ot 
 the rebel Israelites strewn thick in the sandy deserts ; 
 we point you not to the disease, suffering, and death 
 of the entire race of man, for a proof and manifesta- 
 tion of God's determination to maintain in their full 
 operation the powers of all combinations. AVe, in 
 preference, direct you to Gethsemane and Calvary, 
 while we entreat you to contemplate that solemn 
 sight, to dwell in close and profound meditation on 
 that scene. We ask you to consider who is there, and 
 what He is doing. There you behold the Son of 
 God, His heart agonised with grief and wrung with 
 bitter pangs ; His body bathed in His own blood, in 
 the very act of honouring His Father's law, obeying 
 His Father s will, a suppliant at His Father's foot- 
 stool, entreating His Father's heart to see if it 
 were not possible for "the cup" to pass from Him, 
 if it were not possible for His infinite wisdom and 
 Love to divine or discover another way of saving 
 souls from hell, in other words, dissolve the combina- 
 tion formed by transgression. And yet no deliver- 
 ance is found for Him. Jehovah unsheaths the sword 
 of His justice, that He may wound and bruise the 
 Son of His love. This solemn transaction, we need 
 not say, was not one of Divine trifling ; the Father 
 did not sport with the agonies of His own well- 
 beloved Son. That transaction was not a solemn 
 mockery, on the part of the Godhead, of all that 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 211 
 
 is sacred in law, just in government, and impressive 
 in creature feeling. Was the solemnity of this scene 
 a vain display of empty parade ? Is there parade 
 with the Almighty, is there ostentation with the 
 Most High, is there trifling with Jehovah in the 
 most solemn transaction of the Godhead ? Does the 
 Infinitely perfect God require to garnish His doings 
 with unmeaning display in the view of His creatures ? 
 Why, then, did it seem good to the Father that the 
 Son of His Eternal love should appear before men 
 and angels in the anguish of Gethsemane ? Why was 
 the solemn stillness of midnight broken in upon 
 by the plaintive cry of God's own Son ? Why did 
 the object of the Father's ineffable love bleed and 
 groan on the cold damp earth of midnight ? Why 
 did He agonise in the depth of His soul, when no 
 mortal hand was upon Him ? Why did He, '' with 
 strong crying and tears, offer supplication to Him 
 that was able to save Him, and was heard in that 
 He feared," and yet was not rescued, only an angel 
 was sent from heaven to strens^then Him " to 
 drink " " the cup ? " Why, but to afford to fi.nite in- 
 telligence the most solemn and impressive manifesta- 
 tion it was possible for Godhead to give of the 
 immutable determination of the Infinite Mind — to 
 maintain the established order of the universe un- 
 impaired. And what condescending grace in the 
 Everlasting Father to send the Son of His love into 
 such a combination, that He might afford trans- 
 gressors a striking proof of His determination, to 
 maintain all combinations which are formed by His 
 
212 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 creatures, whatever be tlieir cliaracter, and tliiis to give 
 tliem a solemn warning of tlie conseqiiences of remain- 
 ing in combination with the powers of darkness. 
 
 Sec. IV. But man required not only a clear and 
 unmistakable demonstration of God's unalterable de- 
 termination to maintain and uphold the powders of 
 being in their full and unfettered operation, into what- 
 ever combination they may be brought, until they 
 shall have effected the appropriate result of that com- 
 bination, he also needed to see how his guilt is to be 
 expiated. 
 
 Man's conscience condemns him, he dreads the 
 anger of God, he strives to propitiate heaven, he feels 
 that justice should be satisfied, he is the subject of 
 remorse, he recognises and acts himself on the prin- 
 ciple of punishing transgression ; hence he inflicts 
 penance on himself, he offers sacrifices to his gods 
 and he cries aloud to Heaven for foro;iveness. These 
 are facts of human experience which no one acquainted 
 with history, or conversant with the inner workings 
 of his own heart, will question. They are, moreover, 
 the genuine utterances of man's nature, and not the 
 false conceptions of his superstition ; for while super- 
 stition may be general in its facts, it is never universal 
 in its characteristics. How, then, is the burden of 
 guilt to be lifted off" man's spirit ? 
 
 Man's nature not only shows to him that suff'ering 
 is the inevitable accompaniment of sin, but his con- 
 stitution teaches him it is the necessary consequence 
 of it. By transgression he expels God from the throne 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 213 
 
 of his lieart, and awakens witliin liim the dread of 
 Divine wrath, and the light of reason suffices to con- 
 vince him that moral sufFerino^ has its orio'in in the 
 very nature of spiritual being. It is inconceivable 
 that a rational beino; can be conscious of wrono;-doino; 
 without realising dissatisfaction with himself in the 
 realised consciousness of his wronc^. This necessary 
 j)rinciple of spiritual being is the basis or groundwork 
 of the condemnation of conscience, and the non-per- 
 ception of a way of escape from the consciousness of 
 guilt is the basis of remorse ; suffering, then, is the 
 necessity of the deranged condition of the sinner's 
 nature, the indispensable requirement of his disturbed 
 constitution. And as man was created in the image 
 of God, man's constitution must be the reflex of the 
 Divine, and the necessity of suffering in man's nature 
 must have its seat in the deeper depths of the Divine. 
 The sinner's dread of the displeasure of God is no 
 myth, no imaginary fear arising out of an inner hal- 
 lucination, but the real utterance of the condition of 
 his nature. The sinner's deep and enduring desire, 
 therefore, for a change in the manifestation of the 
 Divine is not a mere dream of his relationship with 
 God ; his effort to remove the frown by replacing the 
 smile of the Divine countenance is no groundless 
 endeavour, it is not an effort uncalled for by the 
 sinner's relationship with God. Tliere is a something 
 in the eager desire and earnest endeavour of man to 
 effect a change in the manifestation of the Divine, 
 something to justify this deep-heaved sigh, this uni- 
 versal cry of man's immortal spirit for a change in 
 
214 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 tlie manifestation of God. The sacrifices, penances, 
 supplications of man to Heaven, are not imcalled for 
 in the consciousness of his state, they are not the lie 
 of his realised condition with God, not this, but the 
 unsophisticated utterance of his relative state. The 
 sinner dreads the frown and longs to see a smile on 
 the countenance of God, because he feels from his 
 relation to God that a change in the manifestation of 
 the Divine is absolutely necessary to his ai^proaching 
 God in love. Yes, the sinner's desire for a change 
 in the manifestation of the Divine, is the genuine 
 utterance of the deep necessity of man's fallen con- 
 dition. 
 
 But this needed change was not to be brought 
 about by an arbitrary deed of God ; if it were, we 
 cannot conceive as to why it w^as ever wanting. 
 The world would hardly have been left for centuries 
 to suffer the dreaded consciousness of guilt if by a 
 mere volition the Father could have changed His 
 frown into a smile. This change in the manifesta- 
 tions of the Divine required more than a mere act of 
 will in God. It required a change in the doings and 
 realisations of the persons in the Godhead. 
 
 But is there a possibility of interchange between 
 the persons of the Godhead ? If there be not, then 
 there are no distinctions in the Godhead ; no Persons, 
 and, consequently, no possibility of communication 
 between the Father, Son, and Spirit; but if there is 
 such a possibility, might not the Father, when the 
 Son stood the Representative of fallen humanity, 
 make known to the Sou His sense of displeasure 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 215 
 
 ag^ainst sin? And would not tlie Avitlidrawal from 
 the Son of the sense of His Father's pleasure while 
 He was sufFerinir from man and devils be such a 
 manifestation ? 
 
 This, it appears to us, would be a befitting ex- 
 pression of the Father's dis2:)leasure, and a befitting 
 realisation of the sinner's substitute, for it would 
 not only be a real endurance of Divine displeasure 
 against sin, but the nearest approach which the 
 innocent can make to the realisation of the guilty. 
 Is not the felt absence of God the first consciousness 
 of the sinning, the first realisation of sinful nature, 
 and is not the absence of the Divine in the human 
 the source and beginning of all sufi'ering, conflict, 
 and struggle of fallen humanity ? Such a transaction 
 between the Father and the Son would be a deed 
 of stupendous majesty and grace, well-fitted to appal 
 tlie universe and teach the sinner the awful nature 
 and tremendous consequence of his sin. It would 
 also constitute an adequate basis for a change in 
 the manifestation of the Divine to the world and 
 cancel the guilt of sin. The belief in such a deed 
 of Godhead is w^ell fitted to draw the believer 
 Godward. And nothing short of the belief in such a 
 transaction between the Father and the Son can fully 
 account for the cry of desertion on the Cross. There 
 obviously was, in the suff'erings of Christ, a some- 
 thing between the persons of the Godhead which is 
 the ground of the forgiveness of sin and confidence of 
 the believer. The expiatory and substitutionary 
 sacrifice of Christ's death lay in this something, and 
 
2i6 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 tlie belief of this fact is necessary to tlie ■understanding 
 of tlie cry on the Cross, and the mode in which Christ 
 approached His death. 
 
 The propitiatory nature of Christ's death is neces- 
 sary to meet the want of the guilty conscience of 
 man, and such a death is prefigured in the rites and 
 ceremonies of the Mosaic economy. The laws of the 
 Mosaic dispensation clearly teach that the trans- 
 gressor could escape the penal consequences of his 
 sin only through the death of a victim Avhicli he 
 slew, and the priest offered, as an atonement for his 
 sin. And the same law shows us that the sins 
 of the nation were pardoned yearly, when the High 
 Priest entered into the Holy of Holies with the Llood 
 in his hand ; not that these sacrifices in themselves 
 possessed any inherent power with God or man — 
 they only derived their value from their prefigura- 
 tion of the sacrificial death of the Incarnate One. 
 
 There are two remarkable facts in connection 
 with the death of Christ which arrest our attention, 
 and which the hypothesis of His martyr suffering will 
 not account for, viz.. His cry of desertion on the 
 Cross, and His prayer in the Garden. Christ did, 
 certainly, in His death testify to truth, but He did 
 more, He evolved and realised truth which otherwise 
 could not have been made known. The cry on 
 the Cross involves a 2food deal more than the mere 
 testifying to truth ; nay, the cause of this cry is 
 altogether inconsistent with the known phenomena of 
 the martyr's death. The one prominent peculiarity 
 of the martyr's death is the vivid consciousness of tl)e 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 217 
 
 Fatlier's presence, wliereas, the ciy on tlie Cross 
 indicates desertion. The end and characteristic 
 of Christ's sufferings necessitated the belief of these 
 being more than human. If they had been merely 
 human, they must have been far less than the 
 sufferinfi-s of manv of His followers who suffered 
 more excruciating agonies, and for a far longer 
 period than He did, and in that case, how could He, 
 as the patient endurer of sufferings, have been to 
 them " a pattern of all long-suffering." 
 
 Christ's sufferiuo-s w^ere human and divine, both in 
 their infliction and mode of endurance. They w^ere 
 the sufferino's of the Incarnate One, and w^ere laid on 
 Him directly by the hand of His Father as well as by 
 the wrath of His enemies. Christ possessed a capacity 
 for sufferings beyond the endurance of the human, for 
 as the union of matter and sj)irit in the nature of 
 man produces in the physical of his being a capacity 
 for sufferino- which exists not in mere matter or 
 mere spirit, so the union of the human and divine 
 natures in the person of Christ produced a capacity 
 for sufferino;', and necessitated a keenness of ano;uish 
 which neither man nor God can experience. In their 
 infliction Christ's sufferings were human, devilish, 
 and divine. Man assailed the Son of God with his 
 fiercest rage ; the prince of this world, in the hour and 
 power of darkness, came upon Him with all the 
 malice of his infernal hate, and the Father forsook 
 Him in the extremity of His grief, and no martyr 
 hypothesis will account for this last and bitterest 
 element of Christ's suffering. The only rational 
 
2iS THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 iiccoimt of this, and, indeed, of the other characteristics 
 of His suffering is, that He died the substitute of 
 sinners, i.e., in expiation of their sin. The Father 
 forsook Him in the manifestation of His displeasure 
 against sin, and laid on Him the iniquity of human 
 transOTCSsion. 
 
 Nor will the hypothesis of a mere martyr suffering 
 account for the manner in which Christ approached 
 His death. The only principle on which we can 
 satisfactorily account for the trouble of His soul, and 
 His prayer that if it were possible the cup might pass 
 from Him, is the vicarious nature of His death. In 
 the Garden, and on the Cross, Christ occupied the 
 position and performed the functions of tlie great 
 High Priest of the human race ; and this fact not 
 only accounts for the nature of His sufferings, but 
 likewise for the manner in which He approached 
 them. It is no part of a noble nature to be indif- 
 ferent to suffering, nor is it any part of a holy life to 
 be regardless of the assaults of spiritual wickedness, 
 nor of the filial heart to be unconcerned about a 
 father's desertion especially in the moments it is felt 
 most desirable, and Jesus was fully sensible of the 
 reeoilingfs of His nature from the awful realisations of 
 His death, and as He was acting in the room of man- 
 kind. He gives utterance to the shrinkings of His 
 nature in order that He might impress the minds of 
 men with an idea of the tremendous character of the 
 sufferinors He endured in their stead. In this view of 
 the solemn transaction we see that Jesus offered this 
 remarkable prayer, not on His own, but, as at the 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 219 
 
 grave of Lazarus, "because of the people," that they 
 miirht believe that the Father had sent Him. 
 
 It was not then the unconditional desire of our 
 Lord that the cup should pass from Him. If by 
 " luill " Ave understand fixed 'purpose, unqualified 
 resolve, then we say it could not have been Christ's 
 will that the cup should pass from Him. But if by 
 " ivilV^ we understand sentient desire, reluctance of 
 nature to undergo repulsive and severe suffering, then 
 we affirm it was, and could not but have been, His 
 will that the cup should pass from Him. This two- 
 fold form of the term " will " emj^loyed in the prayer 
 in the garden is not a distinction without a difference, 
 but a distinction which is found in the nature of 
 things, and pointed out to us in the original language 
 of the prayer. A literal rendering of St. Luke's ver- 
 sion would read thus : Father, if it be in accordance 
 with Thy council {^ovXei), remove this cup from Me ; 
 nevertheless, not My inclination (OeXij/xd), but Thy will 
 {/3ov\7]/jid) be clone. This difference between the terms 
 rendered " will " in this translation affords, if we mis- 
 take not, the key to the solution of the difficulties of 
 this prayer. It was the fixed, unwavering purpose of 
 Jesus to lay down His life in expiation of the sins 
 of men, and thus to drink this cup in their stead. 
 It was, indeed, the desire of His sentient nature, but 
 it could not have been the purpose of His mind, to 
 have the cu]3 removed from Him. He had volun- 
 tarily undertaken to drink this cup, and for this end 
 He had come into the world, saying : " Lo, I come 
 to do Thy will, God." Eeferring to the drinking 
 
2 20 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIIE. 
 
 of tliis cup He had said : ''I have a blood}^ baptism 
 to be baptized with, and how am I straightened till 
 it be accomplished." For attempting to persuade 
 Him from drinking "this cup" He sharply rebuked 
 Peter, saying : " Get thee behind Me, Satan, for thou 
 savourest not the tilings that be of God, but those 
 that be of men ; " and advancing to drink tliis cup, 
 He steadfastly "set His face towards Jerusalem," and 
 came up to the city for that express purpose. And 
 that there might be a lasting memorial in His 
 Church of His unquenchable love in drinking 
 ''tliis ciqj'' He had but a few moments l)efore 
 instituted the rite of the communion feast. It was 
 not, then. His unqualified prayer that "this cup" 
 should pass from Him. No, His fixed, unalterable 
 j)urpose was to drink it. 
 
 But if by " will " we understand inclination of 
 nature, reluctance of sentient emotion, to undero-o 
 agonizing, awful, and repulsive suffering, then it was, 
 and could not but have been. His will that "this 
 cup" should pass from Him. His sufferings in 
 drinking "this cup" were aj^palling, and in their 
 very nature thev must have been revoltinoj to Him. 
 His keen, sensitive organism could not but have 
 shrunk from them, His pure, spotless spirit could 
 not but have recoiled from contact with the foul 
 spirits of darkness, and His filial heart could not but 
 have dreaded even a momentary desertion of His 
 Father. But it may be said, allowing that His 
 sufferings were repulsive to Him, He ought to have 
 considered His voluntary undertaking of them, and 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 221 
 
 tliat it was weakness on His part to give such 
 prominent display to His reluctance of nature, and 
 that in doing so He showed a want of true heroism. 
 The very reverse of this is the case. True heroism 
 does not consist in insensibility to suffering, but in 
 the magnanimous endurance of it. The individual 
 who, in the view of suffering, and in the clear per- 
 ception of its character and revolting nature for the 
 accomplishment of an important end, voluntarily 
 enters upon its endurance, displays a nobler heroism, 
 and manifests a truer readiness to undergo such 
 suffering, than he who, not perceiving its nature, 
 blindly rushes upon its endurance. To display, how- 
 ever, this instinctive shrinking of nature when its 
 exhibition could serve no important end, would 
 certainly be unworthy of the character of an illus- 
 trious and generous sufferer. But when such an 
 exhibition was necessary to, and even formed an 
 essential part of, the work he was accomplishing, 
 then, so far from being inconsistent with the dignity 
 of His character, or incompatible with the principle 
 of vicarious suffering, it was only the more worthy 
 of Him, and necessitated by the conditions of His 
 sufferings, and only the more strikingly displayed 
 the true dignity of His character ; for, though it laid 
 Him open to a momentary suspicion of weakness, it 
 only the more clearly exhibited the true readiness 
 of His heart to comply with all that was necessary 
 to the complete accomplishment of the high end of 
 His undertaking. 
 
 It was necessary that the great Eedeemer should 
 
2 22 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 sliow that tlie sufferino-s He endured for the redemp- 
 tion of men were of an appalling and revolting 
 character, and that it was with no stoical indifference 
 that He bore them. It was important that it should 
 be made clear that nothing but zeal for His Father's 
 glory, love for the souls of men, and the ascertained 
 conviction that the salvation of men was possible 
 only through His suffering in their stead, that He 
 could be induced to undergo such suffering. His 
 sufferings were, and could from their very nature 
 only be, known to Himself ; and if He had passed 
 through them without giving a display of His reluct- 
 ance to undergo them, it might have been supposed 
 that they were trivial in their nature, and superficial 
 in their character, and thus the true extent of His 
 suffering for sin, His readiness to suffer in the room 
 of sinners^ and the depth and tenderness of His 
 Father's love in "delivering Him up" to such 
 suffering, would have remained unknown. In dying, 
 the " Just in the room of the unjust," it became Him 
 to afford a striking display of the awful nature and 
 consequences of sin, to show to the universe of 
 intelligence that God could maintain His sway only 
 by taking vengeance on sin, and that this vengeance 
 must fall either upon the sinner or his substitute, and 
 that no other substitute than the Son of God Himself 
 could be found. The sinner imagines that he may 
 trangress the law and yet escape the penalty of his 
 sin, that God will not be strict to mark iniquity or to 
 punish him for his sin, that it is the easiest possible 
 thino; with God to overlook sin and secure the sinner 
 
PO WE R OF RE CONCILIA TION. 223 
 
 against tlie consequences of Lis transgression. God, 
 on the otlier hand, well knows that sin and suffering 
 are inseparably connected, and that it is not possible 
 even for Himself to deliver the sinner from the con- 
 sequences of his transgression, save only by delivering 
 him from the love and practice of sin, and that He 
 could do this only by laying the weight of His dis- 
 pleasure against sin on the Substitute of sinners. It 
 was then incumbent on the Eedeemer in suffering, "the 
 Just in the room of the unjust," to show to the world 
 that the sufferings He endured were of an awful and 
 revolting character, and that the consequences of sin 
 were indeed tremendous. 
 
 And could He have taught the world this lesson at 
 a more suitable time, or in a more befitting manner, 
 than by presenting this prayer to His Father as He 
 entered upon the sufferings of His vicarious death ? 
 The period of our Lord's public ministry had now 
 drawn to a close. In that ministry He had frequently 
 spoken of the character and consequences of sin, and 
 of the necessity of His death in order to the salvation 
 of men. He had often indicated His readiness and 
 intention to lay down His life for the life of the 
 world, and of His Father's love in giving His Son to 
 be the Saviour of men. But these solemn truths, 
 even as stated by Him, made little or no impression 
 on His age. And now that the hour appointed for the 
 laying down of His life had arrived, as the great 
 High Priest of the human race. He entered upon His 
 sacerdotal work, and prepared Himself for offering 
 the one great Sacrifice for sin. Having in the upper 
 
2 24 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 room prepared His disciples for the solemn event 
 awaiting tliem, He retires to the ]\Iount of Olives, 
 not alone, as He was wont, but with His discijDles, 
 and having entered the garden, He withdrew from 
 the disciples, and, at the distance of a stone's cast, 
 in solemn attitude. He presents to His Father the 
 prayer, "that if it were possible the cup might pass 
 from Him." The well-beloved Son, the object of 
 His Father's ineffable love and comjilaceut delight, 
 knowing that there was nothing that it was possible 
 for His Father to grant that would be withheld from 
 His asking, acting in the nature and on the behalf 
 of men. He comes in the solemn attitude of prayer 
 between God and man : and wdiile His soul is wruuo- 
 with bitter anguish, and His body racked with 
 agonizing pangs, instead of suppressing the felt 
 risings of reluctance. He gives vent to the feelings 
 of His nature in a solemn, affectionate appeal to His 
 Father's heart, beseeching Him, that if it was possible 
 for His infinite wisdom and fatherly love to divine 
 another method whereby sinners might be saved, to 
 adopt that method, and rescue Him from the suffer- 
 ings which were overwhelming His soul, yet, at the 
 same time, declaring His readiness, if no other sub- 
 stitution could be found for human transo-ression, to 
 suffer in the room of men. And thus, on the one 
 hand. He affords to His Father t]ie oj^portunity of 
 publishing to the universe the momentous truth, that 
 sin cannot go unpunished ; and, on the other hand, 
 shows the wondrous love of God to sinners, and the 
 intense desire of His heart that they should be rescued 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 225 
 
 from tlieir sins. That this was the great object of 
 the Saviour in presenting this prayer to His Father, 
 and not the exhibition of a momentary weakness in 
 shrinking back from the performance of what He had 
 voluntarily undertaken, is manifest from the prayer 
 itself and the manner in which it was presented. 
 The prayer consists of two parts : the one the con- 
 ditional expression 'of the felt desire of His sentient 
 nature, the other the unconditional utterance of the 
 fixed ]3urpose of His mind, and the unalterable resolu- 
 tion of His heart. The conditional is uttered once, 
 the unconditional is expressed twice. The conditional 
 is expressed, first, in order that its conditional char- 
 acter may be the more apparent in its being followed 
 by the unconditional, uttered twice, and more impres- 
 sively expressed. And in order to give the prayer 
 the greater solemnity, it is presented thrice. 
 
 The event of the Garden and of the Cross is one of 
 great solemnity, an event which in importance rises 
 far above any other of God's known doings to man. 
 The scene befits the grandeur of the occasion, the 
 period is the fulness of the times, th'e hour, the 
 moments of midnight and noon. While the prayer 
 is being ofi"ered man is sunk in sleep and buried in 
 indifi'erence, unable to penetrate the deep design of 
 the solemn transaction ; three, and only three, are 
 permitted to witness the presentation of the prayer, 
 that they afterwards may publish it to the world ; 
 but the spirits above, whose delight is the study of 
 redemption, doubtless beheld the wondrous event as 
 they stooped from their lofty seats to contemplate 
 
2 26 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 the solemn transaction. One, and only one, event 
 occurs on the mountain slope ; one, and only one, 
 voice of prayer is heard to break the solemn stillness 
 of midnight : it is the voice of the Son of God. His 
 soul wrung with unutterable pangs. His body batlied 
 in its own blood, tenderly and affectionately entreat- 
 ing His Father, that if it was within the com^Dass of 
 His boundless wisdom and Almighty power to 
 devise a method whereby sinners could be saved, 
 and He rescued from His sufferings, to adopt that 
 method ; and what is the Father's response to that 
 earnest and affecting petition ? Is all Heaven in 
 motion ? Are its hosts astir ? Do they descend in 
 innumerable myriads and haste to the rescue of 
 their Lord ? Is there a voice heard from the most 
 excellent glory, exclaiming, *' This is my beloved 
 Son, in whom I am well pleased." I will rescue 
 Him, be the consequences what they may. No voice 
 is heard from the excellent glory. One, and only 
 one, messenger descends from the Courts above, 
 and he is commissioned not to take the cup from 
 the trembling hand of Emmanuel, but to strengthen 
 Him to drink it to its dregs — thus showing that, 
 while the prayer was neither unheard nor unheeded, 
 the petition could not be granted if sinners were 
 to be saved. And while the desertion of the Father 
 is being realised by the Son, Nature, at the hour 
 of noon-day brightness, in sympathy with her 
 suffering Lord, attires herself in robes of darkness, 
 the sun clothes himself in sackcloth, the earth quakes, 
 the rocks rend, the graves open, the veil of the 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 227 
 
 temple rends from to23 to bottom, devils exult, men 
 blasjDlieme, and tlie Father treats the Son as He 
 never treated Him before. This was, indeed, an 
 appalling hour of the manifestation of the Divine. 
 That the Father should lay on the Son, that the Son 
 should bear the expression of the Divine displeasure 
 ao-ainst sin, that the Spirit should sustain the Son in 
 the endurance of the load of human guilt, is the 
 mystery of God's love to men. How great the 
 majesty, how amazing the condescension, how won- 
 drous the grace of the Father in giving the Son, 
 of the Son in coming to bear the guilt of men, and 
 of the Spirit in upholding Him while He poured out 
 His soul unto death, that a basis might be made for a 
 chance in the manifestation of the Divine to the 
 human, and to invite man to come near to God to 
 receive the forgiveness of his sin. " Without con- 
 troversy great is the mystery of godliness, God 
 manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen 
 of Angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on 
 in the world, received up into glory." 
 
 The Scriptures clearly teach the doctrine of for- 
 giveness of sin, through the vicarious sufferings of 
 a substitute. The disclosure of this truth to the 
 world was the object of the ceremonial of Judaism. 
 In the camp of Israel, the unclean were separated 
 from the conorreo^ation for a definite time, and until 
 a sacrifice was ofi'ered on their behalf. When an 
 Israelite transgressed any of the laws of Moses, he 
 was excluded from the congregation and deprived of 
 his civil rights, until he brought the appointed sacri- 
 
22 8 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 fice to the priest, and when the priest had atoned 
 for his sin and pronounced it forgiven, he was then 
 restored to his privileges again, as a member of the 
 commonwealth. The presentation of sacrifice on 
 behalf of the nation on the great day of atonement ; 
 the confession of the sins of the people by the High 
 Priest, and the laying on of his hands on the head of 
 the scape goat to be led away into the land of for- 
 getfulness, clearly taught the Jews to look to the 
 sacrifice of another, as the ground of the forgiveness 
 of their sins. 
 
 Our Lord clearly taught men to view His death as 
 a sacrifice for their sin, and His apostles did the 
 same thing. The attempt to expunge the doctrine of 
 substitution from the pages of revelation is altogether 
 hopeless. This doctrine is needed to meet the deep 
 necessities of the fallen spirit of man, and nothing 
 short of it will allay his fear of Divine displeasure 
 and inspire him with love to God. Man cannot be 
 at rest in the view of wrath manifested against him ; 
 and, therefore, in every age and region of the globe, 
 the sinner has sought to avert by sacrifice, the 
 vengeance of Heaven. He has laboured with all his 
 might to effect a change in God, and the idea of 
 efiecting this change, and of securing deliverance 
 through the sujQfering of a substitute, has everywhere 
 haunted the spirit of man. And why ? either from 
 an instinct of nature, or the tradition of primitive 
 revelation. 
 
 The sacrifice of Christ, while chiefly, was not only 
 for man, nor merely for man in this life. It is the 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 229 
 
 evolufciou of tlie deepest principles of the Godhead, 
 and discloses such gr^andeurs of the Uncreated 
 Essence, such mysteries of the Infinite and Eternal, 
 as will require the study of the everlasting ages 
 to learn its ever brightening glories, and this study 
 will ever occupy the attention of all the loyal intelli- 
 gence of creation, and reward them with the purest 
 and most thrilling emotions of an ever-deepening 
 gratitude and adoring love, as they ever and anon 
 discover more and more of the deep things of 
 God. 
 
 Sec. V. Man further needed to have an opportu- 
 nity granted him of displaying his love and gratitude 
 to God. 
 
 AVithout the opportunity of displaying devotedness 
 to the person of his sovereign, and patriotism to his 
 country, the pardoned rebel may have ground to 
 imagine that he is suspected of still harbouring in his 
 breast the sentiments of disloyalty, but if an oppor- 
 tunity of showing loyalty and devotedness be afforded 
 and embraced by him, then will he be deemed worthy 
 of his pardon, and become an honour to his nation. 
 He will win the admiration of his countrymen, and 
 feel at ease in the confidence of his prince. And 
 so with the pardoned sinner, he requires an oppor- 
 tunity of displaying his devotedness and proving his 
 zeaL 
 
 From the fact that the love of wellbeing is the 
 deepest principle of humanity, it follows that the 
 desire of glory must be essential to man. And, thus. 
 
2 30 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LiFE. 
 
 tlie sinner must not only perceive an honourable 
 outlet from the region of despair, but the saint must 
 see a glorious condition of life opening up before him 
 ere he can be at peace with God, and satisfied with 
 his new condition of life. As his life becomes elevated, 
 it must have the Godlike element in higher measure 
 to feed upon. The love of glory being innate to man, 
 it aj)pears in all his actions ; and what the believer 
 needs for his growtli in grace, is not the annihilation 
 of this love, but the coveting " earnestly the better 
 gifts," pursuing " the more excellent way." To 
 imagine that the humiliation of human nature is 
 acceptable to God, is to misunderstand His work and 
 His merciful design. It is the " carnal mind " in man 
 that is to be humiliated before God. And this is 
 done in the faith of that grace which recognises the 
 inherent dignity of man, the glorious character of the 
 life of God in his soul, and the lofty destiny of 
 humanity in Christ Jesus. The great Apostle utters 
 not one word in condemnation of the cherished desire 
 for distinction, in reference to the competitors in the 
 Olympic games, but exclaims : " They do it to obtain 
 a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible." The 
 believer is to live in the perception that it is not in 
 destroying, but in consecrating the love of glory that 
 he live acceptably to God. And he must be made to 
 understand that it is not so much in the deeds of the 
 outer, as in the attainments of the inner life, that true 
 glory is to be acquired ; and that this glory is attained 
 not in feeding the heart on vanities, but in securing 
 spiritual possessions worthy of man's nature and 
 
PO WER OF RE CONCILIA TION. 2 3 1 
 
 circumstances. The believer must be made to see 
 and feel that " he that is slow to anger is better than 
 the mighty, and he that ruleth his own spirit than 
 he that taketh a city." The pursuit of glory in the 
 fellowship of the gospel is not incompatible with the 
 humility, meekness, and gentleness of Christ, but in 
 keeping with His character. This is clearly seen in 
 the life of Jesus and of His great servant Paul ; and 
 when realised by the believer, will ever be found to be 
 a present power against backsliding, and a stimulus 
 in the progress of holiness ; and in revealing to the 
 Church the different degrees of glory in store for the 
 redeemed, the gospel meets a real want in man. The 
 glory of the Son at the right hand of the Father is 
 an evidence of the approbation of the Father, and 
 of His determination to reward the self-sacrificing 
 devotedness of the Son. God, the Fatlier, admires 
 and delights in the self-sacrifice of the Son, and of 
 this He hath given assurance, in that He hath raised 
 Him from the dead. 
 
 Christ, in His intercourse with men in the world, 
 bas shown what humanity in union with Divinity 
 can accomplish. And Christ in heaven, to the eye 
 of faith, exhibits what humanity in unity with 
 Divinity may become. Christ the Incarnate One, 
 has gone to heaven that He might appear in the 
 presence of God for us, and there secure for us all 
 that is necessary to the believer in his upward ascent. 
 The representative character of Christ in His work 
 must not be lost sight of. It was in love to man 
 that Christ became incarnate, it was in the room of 
 
2 32 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 man tliat He died upon the cross, and it is in the 
 stead of man that He lives and reigns in heaven. 
 And to allure man to the imitation of Himself, He 
 makes kno\\Ti to us His position in glory, as the 
 reward of His self-sacrificing life and death. 
 
 And, where amid the ranks of created beings, where, 
 amid the various conditions of finite existence, is 
 exaltation, glory, and bliss, equal to Christ's to be 
 found ? Where is glory so bright, honour so pure, 
 or example so perfect ? If we take our stand in the 
 high summit of revealed truth, contemplate in the 
 visions of faith, soar on the wings of thought through 
 the vastness of space, and survey with rapid sweep 
 and keen glance the numerous and varied forms 
 of existence, we can discover no nature so receptive 
 of the Divine, so susceptible of the indwelling of the 
 Infinite, so near in life and likeness to God, as 
 humanity in the person of God's Son. We behold, in 
 Christ exalted to the right hand of God, the human 
 in a oneness of personality and of life with the 
 Divine ; we behold on the throne of the iiniverse, 
 amid the splendour of the infinite majesty and the 
 bright efiulgence of uncreated light, our own human- 
 ity there ; by faith we perceive the highest reward 
 of self-sacrificing devotedness to the glory of God 
 in the wellbeinir of man : and behold the consumma- 
 tion of the Father's desire, the perfect achievement 
 of the deep designs of the Eternal Council ; for what 
 do we see in the presence of the Father, in the glory 
 of exaltation in the person of God's own Son, but 
 our own humanity, tlie same human nature that we 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 233 
 
 ourselves possess, and why is the Son in yonder glory 
 and bliss of His immortal reign ? Why, but to show 
 to us what we may attain to, and to animate us 
 to strive after a share in His glorious and satisfying 
 fellowship with the Father. And the way we are to 
 seek after this glory and bliss, is to yield ourselves up 
 to the striving spirit, and to co-operate with Him in 
 His invoking operations. It is the pursuit of the 
 glory of the inner life, the experience of communion 
 with the Son, the looking to God through Him, that 
 leads to the deeper realisations of the Divine. It was 
 on her, who, through sitting at Jesus' feet drinking 
 in His wisdom, was prepared to anoint Him, that 
 Christ pronounced the highest encomium He can 
 utter in the ear of man, " She hath done what she 
 could ! " It is in living the life of fellowship with the 
 Divine that we most effectually glorify God, and that 
 we become most efficiently prepared for the dis- 
 tinctions above. It is working out what the Spirit 
 w^orks in us to will and to do, that we alone glorify 
 God and ourselves. 
 
 Sec. YI. But man needed not only an opportunity 
 of displaying his love and devotedness to God, but 
 likewise to have exhibited to him wherein the energy 
 of the Divine life consists. In the incarnation of 
 Christ we have set before us the infinite capacity 
 of humanity for union and communion with Divinity, 
 and the eager desire of the Divine to possess the 
 human. In the Incarnate One, we perceive the 
 limitless capacity of the human, and the impossibility 
 
234 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 of its repose in anything short of the ind^Yelling of 
 God, hence the restless condition of humanity in any, 
 or all the varied states of life on earth, devoid of the 
 indwelling of God, In the Incarnate One we behold 
 the human and Divine in a oneness of personality 
 and life, a proof of the caj)acity of the human for the 
 indwelling of the Divine. In Jesus Christ we per- 
 ceive the human in the enjoyment of the highest 
 dignity the created is capable of; in Him we perceive 
 the infinite susceptibility of the human, for j^rogress 
 in its reception of the Divine ; and in Him we not 
 only behold the susceptibility of the human for glory 
 and bliss, but its actual possession of the one per- 
 sonality, one subjectivity with the Divine. The 
 incarnation thus meets and satisfies the deep yearn- 
 ings and the longing aspirations of the human soul. 
 In the fallen condition of man, sinful man cannot 
 give up the craving of his immortal soul for union 
 and communion with the Infinite ; hence the incarna- 
 tions of the East in the earlier conditions of man's 
 existence, and the deifications of the West, in the 
 later struo-o-les of man to meet the felt wants of his 
 nature and life, likewise the pantheistic tendencies of 
 the philosophic speculations of this age. Man under- 
 stands not the conditions of his peace, and the nature 
 of his union and communion with God, as realisable 
 only through the vital incarnation of the Divine in 
 the human, hence arises the necessity of its being 
 brought very near to him, and clearly disclosed 
 in Jesus Christ, the Lord of life and glory. 
 
 But how was it that Jesus Christ possessed and 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 235 
 
 perfected humanity ? This is an inquiry of great 
 importance, and especially in the p)resent day. The 
 answer is that it was as the Incarnate One. He 
 distinctly announced that He thought nothing and 
 did nothing but what He saw with the Father. 
 His teaching was that we must be in order to do, 
 and not do in order to be. " A good tree cannot 
 bring forth evil fruit ; neither can a corrupt tree bring 
 forth good fruit." "For every tree is known by his 
 own fruit ; for of thorns men do not gather figs, nor 
 of a bramble-bush gather they grapes. A good man, 
 out of the good treasure of his heart, bringeth forth 
 that which is good ; and an evil man, out of the evil 
 treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil : 
 for of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." 
 Humanity must be possessed either by the Divine, or 
 the diabolic spirit, hence the necessity of the indwell- 
 ing of God. The deep necessity of humanity lies in 
 the direction of this indwelling. And it is only as 
 man realises it that he glorifies God, promotes the 
 well being of creation, and attains to the true end of 
 his existence. ^ 
 
 It was only as the Incarnate One that Jesus Christ 
 could overcome the wicked one, it was only as the 
 Incarnate One that He could rise from the death of 
 sin and ascend to glory above. By His incarnation 
 the Lord of Glory took the human into union with 
 the Divine. By the incarnation of His life and death 
 He grappled with, and overcame the enemies of God ; 
 and as the Incarnate One, he triumphed over all 
 opposition, in order that man might realise the 
 
236 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 necessity, and close in with incarnation. It is only 
 as men believe in, realise the necessity of, and act 
 on the conviction of incarnation, that they can live 
 the Christian life. If they attempt to live this life 
 on any other principle than the felt necessity of co- 
 operating with the indwelling spirit of the Living 
 God, they are sm^e to fail. It was in seeing the 
 Father, living by the Father, and holding fellowship 
 with the Father, that the Son realised the fact, and 
 lived worthy of His incarnate life ; He was ever 
 present with the Father, the Father lived in Him, 
 and He by the Father. It was because He had the 
 Spirit of the Father, that He accomplished the object 
 for which the Father sent Him into the world ; and so 
 it must be with the believer in Him, he must live in 
 the Son as the Son lived in the Father, he must ever 
 see the Son as the Son ever saw the Father, he must 
 ever do the will and work of the Son as the Son did 
 the will and work of the Father, he must live the life 
 of the Son as the Son lived the life of the Father, not 
 to the same degree of perfection, but on the same 
 principle. Only thus can he feed on the Bread of 
 Life. And if man is ever to ascend to that lofty con- 
 dition of being and life prepared for him, it must be 
 through the indwelling of which we speak. Behold, 
 then, the humanity which was frail like ours, which 
 grew in wisdom, and in favour with God and man, as 
 ours may do now. Omniscient in the gras^) of its 
 knowledge, Omhipotent in the might of its power, 
 eternal and inexhaustible in the resources of its life, 
 seated on the throne of glory, conducting the immortal 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 237 
 
 goverment of the Most High, and carrying into exe- 
 cution the grand designs of infinite wisdom and grace. 
 Where, then, is there a nature so exalted, a character 
 so glorious, a life so blessed, as that of " ^/le Son oj 
 Mcm^' a nature that can ascend to such elevation of 
 life and nearness to God — a nature which can grasp 
 the prospect of the Infinite Mind, and live the life of 
 God ? What a noble trust, then, is the possession of 
 humanity. 
 
 Sec. VII. But man required not only to have ex- 
 hibited wherein the energy of the Divine life consisted, 
 but also to be drawn to God by a gracious display of 
 His love. Love draws to itself Kindness never fails 
 to draw the inferior animals to those who manifest it 
 to them. In the reformatory schools of Germany, 
 those reformers, who, while they retain their positions 
 among their pupils, can, on befitting occasions, gra- 
 ciously condescend to make tliemselves one with their 
 pupils, and seize the proper opportunity of placing con- 
 fidence in those who have formerly betrayed, fail not to 
 reclaim those youths to self-respect and virtue. The 
 conduct of David, in the cave of Engedi, towards the 
 jealous Saul who sought his life, melted the heart of 
 his persecutor and brought the tears of self-reproach 
 to his eyes. The treatment of Cismar, the traitor, by 
 Augustus, wrung the enmity and treachery of the 
 traitor from his heart, kindled in his breast fervent 
 love and ardent devotion to his prince. And the 
 Father, in giving His Son to die for sinners, mani- 
 
238 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 fests His wisdom, power, and grace, to the ruined 
 race. 
 
 In tlie mission of Christ is displayed the love of 
 God to the fallen world. It was the Jove of God to 
 man that moved the Godhead to resolve on the plan 
 of redemption. It was the yearning of Eternal self- 
 sacrificing love to embrace humanity in Divine 
 delight that brought the Creator of all worlds 
 among men to create the power of atonement, and 
 beseech men to be reconciled to God. Hence, the 
 beloved disciple exclaims, "Herein is love, not that 
 we loved God, but that God loved us, and sent His 
 Son to be the propitiation for our sins." And this is 
 in accordance with the nature of love, which is the 
 very being of God. Love finds its purest pleasure in 
 self-sacrificing exertions. The misery of the objects 
 of its afi"ection stirs it to its deepest depths. The ten- 
 der mother realises her purest delight and deepest joy 
 in her self-denial on behalf of her sufi'ering infant. 
 This power of love is well known to the writers of 
 romance, who fail not to depict extraordinary dis- 
 plays of self-sacrificing devotedness, in order to move 
 the passions of their readers ; and they do so in the 
 conviction of the universal acknowledgment of the 
 readiness of love to sacrifice itself. But the highest 
 colourings of fiction cannot reach, far less surpass, the 
 realities of being. It is the very nature of love to be 
 self-sacrificing. There cannot be love without self- 
 sacrificing. Genuine love satisfies itself with nothing 
 short of this. 
 
 The highest efi'ort, however, of finite self-sacrificing, 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 239 
 
 is but the faintest similitude of tlie self-sacrificing 
 love of God. If the genuine love of earth can display 
 such a spirit of self-sacrificing devotedness, what is the 
 infinite love of Heaven not capable of doing ? The 
 afiection of the mother towards her sick infant ; the 
 yearnings of the aged monarch, the man after God's 
 own heart, for the welfare of a rebel son ; the fervent 
 longings of the self-sacrificing spirit of the Apostle 
 Paul for the salvation of his unbelieving countrymen ; 
 those, and such like, come fiir short of the self-sacri- 
 ficing- love of God. We cannot even in imag^ination 
 set limits to the self-sacrificing devotedness of the 
 love of God. It is the very nature of love to gratify 
 itself in exerting itself to its utmost in behalf of its 
 object. While, then, we stand amazed at the con- 
 descending grace of God, and wonder at the self- 
 sacrificing manifestation of His mercy, may we not 
 also be astonished that epochs and ages should have 
 elapsed ere that love should have embraced humanity ? 
 If God gave up His well-beloved Son to death, if He 
 gave Him up to the power of His enemies to show 
 them that there was nothing He could give or do on 
 their behalf but what He was ready to confer and 
 accomplish, what more can we conceive it possible 
 for God's self-sacrificing love to do on behalf of 
 man ? 
 
 Is it conceivable that tlie father of an only and 
 well-beloved son who had bitter enemies, whose 
 enmity tormented and degraded them, and who 
 cherished a tender compassion for these enemies, and 
 was desirous of doing any and everything that could 
 
240 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 be done to convince them of the groundlessness of 
 their enmity, and of his eager desire to lire them 
 with love to himself, that they might be recovered 
 from their degradation and woe, and raised to dignity 
 and bliss : could he effect this end in a more strikinof 
 and impressive manner than by giving his son to 
 death on their behalf? You enter yon cot or palace, 
 and behold the only son of a benignant and affection- 
 ate father stretched on a couch of severe and acute 
 suffering, the father in deep solicitude and unutter- 
 able grief is bending over his dying child, the child 
 gazes in his countenance with tender emotions of 
 filial love which pierces the father's heart to its quick ; 
 in his solicitations for relief what would not that 
 father do, what would not that father part with to 
 mitigate the sufferings, and to spare the life of his 
 beloved child ; and how intensely would his heart be 
 set upon the accomplishment of any object to effect 
 which, he would take that child and give him up to 
 his malignant foes that they might have the oppor- 
 tunity of wreaking on him the fierceness of their 
 enmity, and wring from him his tender life, and that 
 to, at the very moment when the child who had never 
 offended his father, but had only endeared himself the 
 more to his heart, was by every possible inducement 
 entreating his father with all the solicitude of his 
 filial heart, with the most tender appeals that could 
 rend the father's soul, to rescue him from his frightful 
 anguish and terrible death ; could anything on earth 
 induce a father worthy of the name, to give up in 
 such circumstances an only and beloved child to death ? 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 241 
 
 No, we believe human devotedness can never rise to 
 sucb. a sublime and awful height of self-sacrificing ; 
 a father worthy of that name would himself a thou- 
 sand times sooner die. Even Abraham's piety 
 approached not within sight of this stupendous deed 
 of the Father. It is only the self-sacrificing love 
 of Godhead that could give to the universe such a 
 wondrous display of self-sacrificing grace. We can- 
 not conceive it possible, that man can imagine it 
 possible for Eternal love itself to give a more striking 
 and impressive proof of God's love to man, or of the 
 desire of the Father-Heart to enter into reconciliation 
 with man. Can the desire of Godhead, to do any 
 and everything possible for the salvation of man, be 
 set before the world in more impressive form than 
 is done by the deed of the Garden and the Cross ? 
 No, it cannot. 
 
 In these manifestations of the Divine, we have the 
 elements of an adequate power of reconciliation of 
 man with God. We have an outlet from the reo^ion 
 of remorse and despair, we see clearly how sin itself 
 can be made an occasion of glory to God and of 
 benefit to the universe of beino;. We also see how 
 that the believer, in the consciousness that his sins are 
 all forgiven him, can discern how his sin becomes an 
 occasion of glory to God, by God glorifying Himself 
 in forgiving him all his iniquities, and of benefit to 
 man in his realisation of the complete forgiveness of 
 his sins. We have a clear insio:ht into the nature and 
 workings of the carnal mind, we easily perceive it to 
 
242 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 be essentiall}^ Satanic, and that above all things it is 
 to be dreaded by us ; that while we are animated by 
 it we cannot but be rebels against God, enemies of 
 our own wellbeing. AVe have a striking and impres- 
 sive display of God's inflexible determination in 
 regard to all combinations that may be formed, and 
 of His purpose to maintain all combinations, that 
 even should His own well-beloved Son, for His own 
 glory in the salvation of sinners, go into combination 
 with the powers of darkness, then must He meet all 
 the consequences of that combination, so that no 
 human being whatsoever, if he refuse to come into 
 combination with the powers of light, but persist in 
 remaining in combination with sin and Satan, can fail 
 to meet and realise all the results of such combina- 
 tion. We have also an expiation of human guilt 
 — the Father laying on the Son "the iniquity of 
 us all," and accepting of the death of His Son as 
 *'the propitiation of the sins of the world." We 
 have exhibited to us the Divine nature and results 
 of self-sacrificing love. God's purpose to raise it 
 above all attempts to crush it, and to glorify and 
 bless it above all powers and principalities of life 
 in the universe. We see the capacity of humanity 
 for the indwelling of Divinity, and the necessity of 
 the indwelling of the Divine in man to meet the 
 wants and to quicken the life of humanity. AVe see 
 the most wondrous display of God's love to man. His 
 purpose to leave nothing undone, and to withold 
 nothing He can give to save and glorify the believer 
 in His Son. And in these phases of manifestation we 
 
POWER OF RECONCILIATION. 243 
 
 have all the elements of an adequate power of recon- 
 ciliation. And to effect the reconciliation of the 
 sinner with God, all these phases of manifestation 
 must be displayed in their true harmony, and realised 
 in their unity ; and no one of these must be thrust 
 forward at the expense of the other. 
 
( 244 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 MEDIUM OF RECONCILIATION. 
 
 PtEGENERATiox or tlic filiation of tlie Divine life in 
 man, necessitates the manifestation of the gracious 
 purpose and love of God, viz., the revelation of the 
 Son of God as the son of man ; and following upon 
 regeneration, the assimilation of the life of man in his 
 upward progress towards a perfect standard requires 
 that a perfect example should be set before him. The 
 native impulses of his own heart are not enough, for 
 these are the very things which call for corrections 
 and directions. It is beyond all things needful that 
 the example to be copied should be a Divine personal 
 life, with such points of human contact as shall bring 
 it into sympathy with our lives. Hence the deep 
 underlying want expressed in the idolatrous cry of 
 the Israelites, "Make us gods to go before us." 
 Mediate fellowship with God will not satisfy the 
 cravings of the spirit of man, and immediate fellow- 
 ship with God is not possible through the medium of 
 the finite ; it can only be through an incarnation of 
 the "brightness of the Father's glory." Show us the 
 Father, is the cry of every human s^^irit, and man 
 must come into contact with incarnate life ere he 
 can see the Father in the Son. 
 
MEDIUM OF RE CONCILIA TION. 2 45 
 
 It is tlie gloiy of man that he is created in the 
 image of God, and that to him belong powers which 
 can only be adequately exercised in communion with 
 the Almighty longings which can find their explana- 
 tion and realisation in the Incarnate one. God cannot 
 give away, even to man, the uncreated substance of 
 His own being, but it is man's high honour that he 
 has been made an immortal spirit capable of living 
 God's life, and shining in the radiance of the uncreated 
 glory. 
 
 Humanity is a trinity in unity — a oneness of person- 
 ality in a threefold nature. In this trinity the one 
 nature is subordinated to the other in a unity of life. 
 Man is the possessor of a material, rational, and 
 spiritual nature, and these have not only different 
 functions to discharge in the one life, but each has 
 qualities which we cannot think of as being possessed 
 by the others. We find that these natures connect 
 us with different orders of existence. The senses, e.g., 
 unite man to the material universe, and enable him 
 to hold intercourse with it. Intelligence unites him 
 with the world of mind, and enables him to hold 
 fellowship with it. And his spirit unites him with 
 the Divine, and enables him to hold fellowship with it. 
 
 We speak of the size, colour, and shape of a body, 
 but we cannot think of the size, colour, and shape of 
 a mind or its product, or of a spirit and its aspirations 
 and desires. By means of the senses we receive im- 
 pressions from external nature ; by means of the under- 
 standing we perceive principles, &c. ; and by means 
 of conscience we perceive the right and wrong of 
 
246 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 actions, realise obligations, and ajDprove and dis- 
 approve of conduct. By our volition we put forth 
 energy to form new combinations which, but for our 
 willing them to be, would have no existence. Man 
 acts in his will, by his understanding, and through 
 means of his senses, and while his action is one, and 
 his own, it is distinct as regards his spirit, mind, and 
 body. 
 
 The tripartite nature of man exists in a subordinate 
 relationship of constitution, i.e., it is a conditional 
 union of parts. In the very nature of things, and by 
 the Divine constitution of humanity, the body is in- 
 ferior and subordinate to the mind, and the mind to 
 the spirit ; and this threefold nature of man is bound 
 together in a oneness of individuality and unity of 
 life. Man, amid all the changes of his threefold 
 nature and difi'erent conditions of his individual life, 
 possesses an indestructible consciousness of the unity 
 and personality of his life ; it is the same ego or I that 
 receives impressions by means of the senses ; that j)Gr- 
 ceives principles, laws, &c., by means of the intelli- 
 gence ; that is conscious of obligations in regard to the 
 right and wrong of action by means of the conscience ; 
 and that gives forth energy in the actions of the will. 
 It is the same ego that exists in the present as existed 
 in the past and looks forward to the future. 
 
 The knowledge of this threefold nature of man 
 is as old as human consciousness, and the distinction 
 between soul and body has been vividly recognised 
 by man, since he first witnessed the mortality of the 
 race. But the clear intimation of the distinction 
 
MEDIUM OF RE CONCIL I ATI ON. 247 
 
 between mind and spirit is tlie gift of revelation, and 
 chiefly communicated to us in the writings of the 
 Apostle Paul. And this distinction is ftir too little 
 attended to in the psychology and theology of our 
 day ; this distinction is clearly set before us in these 
 words, "The very God of peace sanctify you wholly, 
 and I pray God, your whole spirit and soul and body 
 be presented blameless, unto the coming of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ." 
 
 In the normal state of humanity the mind governs 
 the body, the spirit governs the mind, and God 
 governs the spirit, but in the abnormal state, when 
 God does not rule in the spirit, the spirit does not 
 rule in the mind, nor the mind in the body, 
 and then anarchy and conflict prevail ; and " the 
 earthly, sensual, and devilish," enslave the man and 
 reign over him. When the constitutional balance 
 of humanity is disturbed, the liberty of man is broken 
 in upon, the perfection of life is at an end, and satisfac- 
 tion of being is rendered impossible ; the dominion of 
 man in the life, and of God in the person have ceased, 
 the dormant state of the God-conscious faculty of the 
 spirit is the necessary result of man's separation from 
 God by sin, and the spirit exists in fallen man only 
 as a capacity for the Divine, and not as energised 
 godliness in the life. 
 
 The indwelling of the Divine, or the quickening of 
 the spiritual in man, is needful to the perfection of 
 his personality, and here it may be of service to con- 
 sider what that is which goes by the name of 
 personality. 
 
2 48 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 The substance of my body, mind, and spirit, is mine, 
 is my substance in a sense in which it is the substance 
 of no other. Tlie power which I exert is my power, 
 and is mine in a sense in which it is the power of no 
 other. The dispositions wliich I cherish are my 
 dispositions, and they are mine in a sense peculiarly 
 my own. The motives which influence me are my 
 motives, and that in a sense in which they belong 
 to no other. The volitions which I originate are my 
 volitions, and mine in a sense in which they belong 
 to no other. The consciousness in which I live is my 
 consciousness, and it is my consciousness in a sense 
 in which it is the consciousness of no other. 
 
 Substance, power, relations, disposition, motive, 
 volition, consciousness, in the general, unite me with 
 other rational beings, and are common to me with 
 them ; but the specific of these is that which separates 
 me from all other individuals, and ensj)heres me in 
 the region of my own personal existence. The im- 
 mediate of substance, power, relation, &c., is that which 
 distinguishes me from all other beings, shuts me up 
 within myself, and constitutes my individuality. 
 The specific of these is common to no other individual 
 with me.. The immediate of them is known to no 
 other being, as it is known to me. The immediate 
 of substance, power, &c., is that which is mine, con- 
 stitutes me what I am, and distinguishes me from 
 all other beings, is the region in which I dwell, exists 
 as I exist, and would cease to exist were I to cease to 
 exist. 
 
 I can conceive of nothing: mediate between me and 
 
MEDIUM OF RE CONCILIA TION. 2 49 
 
 my consciousness, between me and my volitions, 
 between me and my substance, &c. The immediate 
 of my being comes jiito existence with me, continues 
 in being witli me, and changes with the changes 
 of my existence. I have a consciousness, a volition, 
 a motive, &c., and they are mine in a sense in which 
 they belong to no other ; they depend upon me for 
 being, they are inseparable from me. And how they 
 are to exist in perfection is to me one of the most 
 important Cjuestions that can be raised. 
 
 AVith a view to the elucidation of this matter, it is 
 needful to bear in mind what has already been said 
 reoardimj the union of three natures in a oneness of 
 personality and life. If the union of these three 
 natures thus produces a capacity for realisation, which 
 in their separate state could belong to none of them 
 singly, why, then, may not the addition of another 
 nature produce an increased capacity, and supply 
 the conditions of perfections of life, to an extent 
 otherwise quite impossible ? That it does suj)ply these 
 conditions we need hardly say the Scriptures 
 affirm. 
 
 This fourfold union of nature, in a oneness of per- 
 sonality and life, already exists in its most perfect 
 form, in the person of the Incarnate one; and it 
 is only as we become one with Him, that we can 
 attain to the goal of existence. It is only thus that 
 we can see the Father, and it is only in fellowship 
 with the Father, through the Son, and by the Spirit, 
 that we can realise the perfections of our being and 
 life. 
 
2 so 2 HE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 lucarnation is tlic link of connection between tBe 
 human and Divine both in personality and life ; Incar- 
 nation is the ladder of the descent of the Divine into 
 the human, and of the ascent of the human into the 
 Divine. In the Incarnate one, the human and Divine 
 are united in a oneness of personality ; in the regene- 
 rate, the human and Divine arc united in a oneness of 
 life. 
 
 As the Logos assumed our nature and responsi- 
 bilities, so must we take on His life and character. 
 He possesses the immediate of the human, and we in 
 Him possess the immediate of the Divine. He took 
 upon Himself a real, perfect, complete humanity. He 
 was "bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh," and as 
 " the children are partakers of flesli and blood. He 
 also Himself took part of the same," His body was 
 liable to fatigue, hunger, and thirst ; it was nourished 
 by food, refreshed by drink, invigorated by sleep ; 
 it felt the pangs of hunger, the cravings of thirst, the 
 exhaustion of labour ; it was liable to pain and suffer- 
 ing in life, and to the agonies of death ; it grew from 
 infancy to childhood and youtli, from youth to 
 manhood. In regard to all these things, He was 
 subject to the same conditions as we ourselves are 
 subject to. 
 
 In regard to His mind, the same thing holds good ; 
 it was like our own in all sinless matters, its capa- 
 cities like our own required to be developed. He 
 increased in knowledge, and made progress in under- 
 standing. While free from error, tliere were things 
 which the young mind of Jesus did not know. 
 
MEDl UM OF RE CONCILIA TION. 2 5 1 
 
 Furtlier, He jDOSsessed a spirit like our spirit, He 
 felt as we feel, loved as we love,^ longed as we long, 
 desired as we desire, aspired as we aspire. 
 
 And as Christ really took our nature into His own 
 personality and life, in order to tlie actuality and 
 perfection of His Incarnation, so must we take Him 
 into our nature and life, in order to its perfection 
 and enjoyment. It is only in receiving Him that we 
 can be made "partakers of the Divine nature." As 
 He comes into our nature to secure for us the per- 
 fection and joy of His life, so must we take Him into 
 our life in order to realise the perfection of His life, 
 and the benefit of His work. 
 
 The theological controversies of the last eighteen 
 centuries are all tending to establish, with ever in- 
 creasing clearness, the essential Divinity of Jesus 
 Christ, and the reality of the Incarnation of the Son 
 of God, in the Son of Man. But they cannot stop 
 here, they have more to do than this; they must 
 show that participation in the Divine nature by the 
 human, through its union with Christ, is absolutely 
 needful for the complete perfection and glory of the 
 human. Humanity was erected for the indwelling 
 of the Divine ; and that this indwelling shall be a 
 realised fact of its experience is, no doubt, the pur- 
 pose of God, as expressed in the conditions of human 
 wellbeing. Humanity being created for participation 
 in the nature of God, as a matter of course its capa- 
 cities can only be filled by God and its nature 
 completed in Him. In order to his wellbeing, man 
 must have all his capacities filled, all his relations 
 
2^2 
 
 THE SCIENCE OF S FIR J 7 UAL LIFE. 
 
 liarmonised, all liis faculties energised, and all liis 
 powers duly exercised ; and tins can only be accom- 
 plished in having the God-conscious faculty of his 
 soul quickened, and acting with delight in the 
 " Invisible," which is alone possible through the 
 indwelling of God. If the organ be not in a healthy 
 state, man cannot be at rest; if it is in any way 
 damaged, God, as He is, cannot be seen by it ; ere 
 God can be seen l)y man, this organ of his spirit 
 must be c[uickened with love, but love to what ? To 
 self ! to creature allurements however high ! not with 
 love to these, but with love to the Christlike, for 
 if we have not the spirit of Christ, we are none of 
 His. We may have the possessions of an Olympian 
 deity, or the attainments of an archangel, l)ut if 
 "Christ be not in us the hope of glory," then must 
 we lack the Divine Sonship, the most glorious of all 
 possible attainments. 
 
 As truly as Christ took our nature, so truly He 
 gives lis His life, and as it was only in our nature 
 that He could live His life, and give such a manifes- 
 tation of His Father's love as was needful to our 
 faith, so it is only in His life that we can put Him 
 on and realise His salvation. AVe may abound in 
 zeal and be abundant in labours as to rival or 
 surpass the great Apostle. As expositors we may 
 eclipse the labour of a Calvin, Luther, and others ; 
 yet if we have not the sj)irit of Christ we are none 
 of His. I may possess the wealth of a Croesus and 
 devote it all to works of charity, I may have the 
 devotedness of a Howard and spend my days and 
 
MEDl UM OF RE CONCILIA TION. 2 5 3 
 
 niglits in visiting the wretched; I may leave tlie 
 devotees of all asfes in the far distance in reo-ard to 
 fasting; and zeal, but if I have not Christ I am 
 nothing, it is all in vain. I cannot please God, who 
 will not acknowledge anything in the human life 
 but what has originated in, and has proceeded from, 
 Christ. 
 
 In the Incarnation of the Son of God in the Son 
 of Man, the Divine and human as has been already 
 said becomes one personality. And it is in this 
 union that God gives the highest manifestations of 
 Himself. It is in the human that God has accom- 
 plished His most glorious work. And it is to the 
 believer that He reveals Himself in the most 
 endearing fellowship. We cannot easily conceive of 
 a nature brought into a nearer affinity to God's 
 nature, or more capable of becoming one with it, than 
 is man's nature. And in point of fact there is no 
 created nature so highly exalted as is humanity, for 
 in the person of Christ Jesus it is raised " to the 
 right hand of the Majesty on high." 
 
 And as the humanity is necessary to the Divinity 
 of Jesus Christ, so is the Incarnate life of the Son 
 needful to the fulness, glory, and bliss of man, and 
 the perfection of the humanity of the redeemed. The 
 humanity of the redeemed is complete in the measure 
 of the believer's reception of Christ. 
 
 The Son of Man is the only one of the race who 
 has fully and unqualifiedly received the Son of God ; 
 therefore He alone has ever perfectly done the 
 will of God. And this is that which constitutes the 
 
254 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 diflferencc of the life of tlie Saviour from the life of 
 tlie savetl. In tlieir personalities the Saviour and 
 the saved are distinct, in their lives they arc one, 
 but the character of the life of the Saviour surpasses, 
 as the heavens surpass in height the earth, the 
 character of the life of the saved. 
 
 In the Incarnate one we have given to us the 
 revelation of the Divine, both objective and subjective 
 in its fulness. The Father desires nothing more in 
 the manifestations of the Divine than there is in His 
 Son, nor does He desire more of the human. And 
 those who receive the Son by faith are of one life 
 with Him. And to the extent of that life in a 
 oneness of consciousness with Him, their subjective 
 is one with the subjective of God ; hence says the 
 Apostle, " Our life is hid with Christ in God." In 
 Him we have the revelation of the capacity of the 
 human, the manifestation of the perfect human. 
 Without Him the human cannot live the Divine life, 
 nor realise the completion and perfection of its own 
 existence. 
 
 In Christ Jesus the Divine descends into the human, 
 fills, completes, and glorifies it. In Christ the human 
 ascends into a oneness of spirit and life with the 
 Divine. In Christ the Infinite comes within the 
 limits of space, and the Eternal within the limits of 
 time ; the living comes into the dead and quickens 
 them with His own blessed life. Who then can set 
 limits to the revelation of the Infinite Eternal and 
 Divine ? or to the reception of the same by the 
 human ? The world has the capacity for the reception 
 
MEDIUM OF RE CONCILIA TION. 2 5 5 
 
 and indwelling of the Divine, but not tlie capability 
 for it. The spirit of tlie world is the enmity of the 
 carnal, and this is antagonistic to the Divine, hence 
 the impossibility of the consecration of the world to 
 the fellowship of the Divine ; before this can be 
 accomplished, the carnal must be driven out from 
 the human by the manifestation of God, given to the 
 world in Christ Jesus. And thus the subjugation of 
 evil, the consecration of power, the sanctification of 
 capacity, the fellowship of life and every excellence 
 is attained, through the descent of the Divine, and 
 the reception in faith of the Mediator between God 
 and man. "The Man Christ Jesus." 
 
 In as much, then, as man was created in the imaei^e 
 Divine, there was in him shadowed forth to finite 
 vision, vast capacities and high possibilities. There 
 was produced outside of the consciousness of God 
 the embodiment of the Divine conception, the cherished 
 idea of God. But in the Incarnation, at the fulness of 
 the times, the conception was more perfectly disclosed. 
 Study closely the inseparable union of the human and 
 Divine natures in the one personality and life of the 
 Incarnate one. Behold the human in permanent 
 union with the Divine, see it on the throne of the 
 universe at the Father's right hand ; carried in 
 glorious ascent to the seat of the universal empire, 
 amid the thron^ino; leoions of attendant angels, and 
 the exultant shouts of the heavenly host, contemplate 
 it in majesty swaying its all embracing sceptre, and 
 can you imagine even the possibility of God Himself 
 raisinsf the finite hiMier than this state of human 
 
 o o 
 
2?6 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 = 
 
 exaltation and bliss ; not even angelic nature may 
 aspire to this. And to set before iis what humanity 
 in its union with Divinity can attain to, was the 
 orand end of the Son of God becomino- the Son of 
 Man. Yes, the glorious conception of the Triune 
 Jehovah in the Incarnation of the Son of God, was to 
 display to universal intelligence the deep capacities, 
 the boundless susceptibilities of the human, and its 
 indefinite power of assimilation to the Divine. 
 
 But it was not only needful that Christ should 
 point out to man what he might reach, it was also 
 requisite that He should show him the Avay to reach 
 his destination ; and this our Lord has done. All 
 that Christ did and said, He did and said with this 
 end in view. Without the doctrine and example of 
 Jesus, no son of Adam's race could ever have reached 
 the perfections of His being and life. The Son of 
 God, as revealer of the True, from the height of His 
 glory might have pointed out to man the way, might 
 have commissioned angels to guide his ste2:)s in the 
 path of glory and bliss, but man, even with such aid, 
 would have failed to reach his destination. It was 
 imperatively needful that one should come to set the 
 example, otherwise, no human being could ever have 
 attained to life and immortality. And even the 
 alluring attractions of Christ's example need to be 
 supplemented with all the fascinations of Divine love 
 to induce man to enter upon the way of life, and it 
 needs all the skill of Infinite wisdom to keep him in it. 
 
 Behold, then, the humanity of the Glorified Incar- 
 nate One, on the seat of the empire above, crowned with 
 
MEDIUM OF RE CONCILIA TION. 2 5 7 
 
 the diadem of victory, honoured by the Father, wor- 
 shipped by the hosts of the shies, blessed with the 
 consciousness of the Divine, and resplendent in the 
 radiance of uncreated light, bending from His lofty 
 seat and beckoning you to follow in His footsteps, 
 and to join Him in the realms of immortality. Oh, 
 then, Eternal Spirit of the Infinite God, breathe 
 upon us, quicken us, and fill us with Thine own ful- 
 ness, that we may " see the King in His beauty, enjoy 
 Him as He is, and reign with Him in glory." When 
 I attempt to gaze on the orb of day in the full splen- 
 dour of his noontide blaze, mine eye dims into the 
 deep shades of night, and I am constrained to say he is 
 too bright an object for my organ of vision ; but when 
 T look at him veiled in a dense atmosphere, I can 
 gaze upon him with impunity ; and when I contem- 
 j^late him in the light of science, I can learn of him 
 all that science can make known. So, when I attempt, 
 by the unaided powers of reason, to grasp and com- 
 prehend the Infinite Eternal God, my mind, stunned 
 and paralysed by the attempt, falls back upon itself 
 in the conviction that by its own unaided efforts it 
 can never ascend to a height so awful. But when by 
 faith I contemplate the uncreated God through the 
 veil of the Eedeemer's humanity, I feel that my mind 
 is expanded and elevated, in its approach to the Infin- 
 ite and Divine, in such a manner as makes it impos- 
 sible for me, even in imagination, to set limits to my 
 assimilation in love, knowledge, and life, to the Eternal 
 God. I feel myself elevated to the highest condition 
 of my being and life, my mind becomes enlarged witli 
 
 B 
 
258 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 the noblest and most comprehensive conceptions, and 
 my heart is enlivened with the divinest and most 
 God-like emotions ; I feel that I have a capacity for 
 the Divine itself, and that my spirit can contain 
 God ; I feel that by faith I can receive the Son of 
 God. And thus, I perceive that my humanity is 
 capable of reaching the most exalted condition of 
 finite existence. Nor does this express the whole, for 
 humanity in its life divine is the image of the Invi- 
 sible, the heir of God, and joint-heir with the Son of 
 God. In the possession and enjoyment of the life of 
 God it is more than the mere finite, and higher than 
 the mere created. It is conscious of a oneness of life 
 with the Infinite, it is the created manifestinir and 
 enjoying the life of the uncreated. Glorious, incom- 
 prehensible, unfathomable mystery. Thus I begin to 
 know that to lift man up to this highest height of 
 eternal felicity, to raise humanity to this loftiest 
 altitude of being and life, was the grand end of 
 the medium of fellowshij^ becoming the Mediator of 
 Life. 
 
( 259 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 CONDITION OF RECONCILIATION. 
 
 Things which exist, and events which take place or 
 are supposed to take place, in remote distance of space 
 or time, can be known to men only by rej)ort. If the 
 event has occurred in a region lying beyond the rano-e 
 of personal observation and outside the sphere of 
 their consciousness, it can be known to men in no 
 other way than as the report of it is brought to them 
 by others. As the thought of one mind can be known 
 to another mind through the latter 's belief of the state- 
 ment of the former, so the event of one place or of 
 one age can be known to the men of another place or 
 another age, only through their crediting the narrative 
 brought to them of the events ; and the events can 
 only be known as they are faithfully reported, and 
 the report simply believed. If the narrator has failed 
 to observe correctly, or record exactly, the peculiarities 
 of what he describes, or if in his description he has 
 mixed up with his account of what he reports supposi- 
 tions of his own, and if his narrative of the events be 
 taken as a faithful account of the occurrence, a correct 
 impression of it will not be received by his readers ; 
 or if the historian should transmit a faithful account 
 
26o THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 of what lie lays before liis readers, and if tliey, instead 
 of simply believing his narrative, should mix np with 
 it notions of their own, they would not have a correct 
 conception of the events recorded. Faithful narration, 
 then, and simple belief are necessary to a correct 
 knowledge of everything that lies beyond the sphere 
 of our own experience. 
 
 If, then, the purpose of one mind can be known to 
 another mind only as it is revealed to that other, and 
 if the events of one age can be learned by the men of 
 another age only as these are communicated to that 
 other age, then the purpose of the Infinite mind can be 
 known by the finite mind only as it is revealed, and 
 the doings of God in one age can be read by the men 
 of all subsequent ages only as the account of these 
 doings is transmitted to them. 
 
 The purpose of God, therefore, to reconcile man to 
 Himself by the death of His Son could be commu- 
 nicated to man only through the revelation of it in 
 the incarnation of Christ, and this purpose could be 
 revealed to the world only in one manifestation of it 
 to one people in one place, and not to every man in 
 every age and every land. The great bulk of man- 
 kind, therefore, must learn this purpose of God through 
 the testimony of their fellows. 
 
 If the purpose of mercy to man is to be known at 
 all by individuals who have not had the opportunity 
 of witnessing its manifestation, it can be known to 
 them only through their belief of the testimony of 
 those qualified to declare the manifestation of that 
 purpose, and by the simple belief of that testimony, 
 
CONDITION OF RE CONCILIA TION. 2 6 1 
 
 all men, eveiywliere, to -whom it is declared may 
 become acquainted with that purpose, and by faith 
 in it enter into reconciliation with their Father in 
 heaven. 
 
 "Faith," says the writer of the Epistle to the 
 Hebrews, " is the substance of things hoped for, the 
 credence of things not seen," or, as rendered otherwise. 
 "The realisation of the thing hoped for, the vision or 
 conviction of things not seen," and both the Church 
 and the world have sustained great loss by the neglect 
 of this inspired definition of faith, and the substitu- 
 tion of other definitions in its stead. 
 
 Faith is the substance, or the vision of the unseen ; 
 for example, a parent entertains a purpose in reference 
 to his child ; the cherishing of this purpose on the part 
 of the parent is a reality in the parent, but as long as 
 it is carefully kept to himself it is unknown to his 
 child, and while unknown, it can, of course, exert no 
 influence upon the child ; if, however, the parent 
 reveals his purpose, say, in the form of a promise, then 
 his purpose has an existence out of himself, it is now 
 revealed in the statement he has made to his child, 
 and dwells in the recollection of both parent and 
 child. If the statement of the promise be not believed 
 by the child, the purpose of the father has no realised 
 existence in the heart of the child, it exists only in 
 the heart and statement of the parent, and in the 
 recollection of the father and son ; but if the statement 
 of the promise of the father be believed by the son, 
 then the purpose of the father, through the belief of 
 the child, has an existence in the heart of the son, 
 
262 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 and in tlie measure of tlie correctness of tlie statement 
 of the promise made, and of the clearness of its appre- 
 hension, is the ideal of father and son the same with 
 regard to the purpose formed. In this way the child 
 has already an ideal possession or a spiritual realisa- 
 tion of the thing promised, and there is a union and 
 communion of understandinij and heart between father 
 and son in regard to the thing promised. 
 
 There are thus two sides in faith, viz., the concep- 
 tion or idea of the thing promised, and the persuasion 
 of the veracity of the person making the promise, 
 the anticipative realisation of the thing promised ; 
 hence faith is w^ell defined to be the thing hoped for, 
 the realisation of the unseen. 
 
 Thus is it, spiritually, God makes promise of the 
 life of His Son to all that believe in Him. The 
 sinner believes, and in the measure of his apprehen- 
 sion of eternal life throuoh the atonincr blood of 
 Christ, he possesses and enjoys that life, realises the 
 forgiveness of his sins, and has the substance of the 
 things hoped for, through the conviction of the 
 unseen ; his heart glows with the delight arising out 
 of it, his mind is occupied with the thought of it, and 
 his will is consecrated to the enjoyment of it. The 
 believer in Christ, just in the clearness of his apj)re- 
 hension of the Gospel, has through his belief of it the 
 possession and enjoyment of the Divine life, he has a 
 conception of spiritual life in his mind, and a realisa- 
 tion of it in his heart, he has the substance of the 
 thing hoped for, the realisation of the unseen. 
 
 As this matter is of vital imiDortance, let us take 
 
CONDITION OF RECONCILIATION. 263 
 
 an illustration easy to be understood. A sou, we shall 
 suppose, disobeys his father's command, and rebels 
 against his authority ; now, while the recollection 
 of his transgression is fresh in his mind, he is likely 
 to dread the punishment which he knows he has 
 merited ; he dislikes, of course, the thought of his 
 father's chastisement, and tries to avoid his presence ; 
 if he succeeds in keeping clear of his father, and gets 
 engaged with his companions in their games, he may 
 lose all vivid impression of his transgression and of 
 his alarm at his father's dis^^leasure, and, for a time, 
 all apprehension of his transgression may be lost in 
 the excitement of the spoi't. But let a quarrel arise 
 between him and his companions, let him wander 
 about for days uncared for by any till he is 
 made to feel that there is no place like home, and 
 that the way of the transgressor is hard, and at 
 this juncture, when, perchance, his misery is deepen- 
 ing into despair, let him see his father approaching 
 with tenderness and pity in his look for his miserable 
 son, and let the father come up to him, and while he 
 points out to him the aggravated nature of his offence, 
 and the great trouble and expense it must entail, yet 
 out of pity and love, and in order to free him from 
 punishment, he has himself undertaken the whole 
 responsibility, and declares to his son, in consequence, 
 a full and free forgiveness, at the same time placing 
 in his hand a striking proof of his forgiveness and 
 love. If the son believes the word of his father, his 
 fear will flee away, his dread will vanish, and his 
 heart will glow with love and gratitude, delight in 
 
2 64 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 Ills father will fill his soul ; lie will ouly desire 
 to know what it w^ould gratify his father to see him 
 do, and he will hasten with joy to do it. This proof 
 of his father's love to him fills him with confidence 
 and zeal, and thus father and son are hound to each 
 other in sweeter bonds of affection than they felt for 
 each other before. The father sees the filial love of 
 the son with complacency and delight, and the son 
 looks up to the father in the fulness of an overflow- 
 ing heart, and thus their reconciliation is complete, 
 their mutual attachment deepened and augmented. 
 
 But if, instead of freely pardoning his son, the 
 father had sought and found him in order to upbraid 
 him and formally banish him from his presence, 
 never again to see him until, by the doing of some 
 difficult work, he has merited forgiveness, what \Yould 
 have been the effect on this wretched son ? Would 
 this have fired him with love and gratitude ? On 
 the contrary, would it not have increased his dread 
 and engendered dislike to his father ? From fear of 
 his father, the son naisjht set about the doino; of the 
 prescribed work, but it would be with no love to the 
 work, nor with pleasure in the treatment which he had 
 received from his father, and if he felt the work to be 
 impossible, or even difficult, he would, perhaps, give it 
 up in disgust or despair ; or, in the event of j^ursuing 
 his task out to the end, it would be with a sense 
 of degradation, and in his toil he would be a slave 
 and not a son. 
 
 If, on the other hand, the son should fancy that in 
 spite of his father's tender looks and fair promises, he 
 
CONDITION OF RE CONCILIA TION. 2 6 5 
 
 liad no intention of forgiving liim his fault, but spoke 
 to liim in such a manner only the more easily to 
 entice him home with a view to chastise him, then 
 such a suj^position would not fire his heart with love 
 and gratitude, but only the more increase his fear and 
 dislike. It is, therefore, only the clear announcement 
 of forgiveness, and the implicit belief of that an- 
 nouncement, that can awaken love and confidence in 
 the heart of any erring son. 
 
 Man, the child of God, has transgressed the com- 
 mandments of the Father in heaven, and, in the per- 
 ception of his guilt, the first feeling wdthin him is 
 that of fear and dread of punishment which leads 
 him to shun the presence of God. He engages in the 
 affairs of life, and seeks to enjoy the pleasures of the 
 world, and as long as he is absorbed with them, he 
 may forget his transgression, and be unconcerned about 
 his relations to God ; but if God comes to him, in the 
 alarming events of His Providence, he becomes ter- 
 rified and anxious about his spiritual state, and if, in 
 the consciousness of guilt, he believes the gospel, then 
 he enters into peace with God. In the light of the 
 cross, he sees that he has grievously sinned against 
 his Father, and has sought only to live for himself, 
 and that, although God has left him for a time to 
 himself, that he might the more effectually learn what 
 he really was, that fact did not cancel his guilt, nor 
 deliver him from its power. He sees that God, in 
 coming to him in the mission and work of His Son, 
 has not come to upbraid him for his sin, nor to 
 threaten him with punishment, but to point out to 
 
266 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 bim in tlie most tender and affectionate manner the 
 real nature of liis enmity ; showing to him how great 
 the expense, and difficult the work He has undertaken, 
 that He might be able to forgive him his sins, and 
 that, notwithstanding the trying nature of the work 
 and the greatness of the expense, out of love to him 
 He has undertaken the whole responsibility, that He 
 might freely forgive men their sins, and bestow upon 
 them eternal life. The perception of this great truth 
 at once destroys the enmity of the carnal mind in the 
 believer, fills him with love and gratitude, and inspires 
 liim wath devoted zeal to the glory of his Father in 
 heaven, and thus the reconciliation which is throufrh 
 our Lord Jesus Christ is effected between the Father 
 and His erring son. 
 
 But if, instead of looking at guilt in the light of the 
 cross, the sinner contemplates his sin through the 
 medium of his own fears, then he naturally thinks of 
 God as an hard taskmaster, demandino; severe thinos 
 of him ; and, perhajDS, he becomes careless and indif- 
 ferent, or he begins to perform what he hopes will 
 meet His favour, and secure His approbation, but the 
 motive power of love is awanting in his heart, and 
 the effort is felt to be irksome, and is either abandoned 
 or drawled out in the deadness of formalism. There 
 is no radical change of spirit, no life of godliness in 
 the soul ; the man is the slave of fear, performing his 
 daily task from the dread of hell, but his efforts only 
 the more effectually bring him under the power and 
 punishment of sin. The very attempt thus made to 
 merit the favour of God, shuts the divine life out of 
 
CONDITION OF RECONCILIATION 267 
 
 the man's soul, and plunges liim into deeper degrada- 
 tion, and in liis religious thoughts and feeling there 
 is experienced no joy of soul. 
 
 If, again, the aroused sinner, instead of simply 
 believing the pure gospel, clings to a mixture of 
 gospel truth, with suppositions of his own, then does 
 lie cleave to " another gospel which is yet not an- 
 other," and perplexity is the result ; he is not indif- 
 ferent, but restless and unsatisfied ; and these feelings 
 are greater or less in proportion as error or truth 
 preponderate in his mind. He cannot, in such a case, 
 realise peace with God and joy in the Holy Ghost, 
 but only, at most, false confidence or fear. 
 
 If, further, a man in search of peace wdth Heaven, 
 instead of believing the gospel, look to his own inner 
 state, and strives by prayer, reading of God's Word, 
 and attendance on the means of grace, all good and 
 needful things, or, if he strives by self-mortification 
 and righteous deeds to obtain the peace he is search- 
 ing after, then disapjiointmeut must follow, for the 
 man only labours in vain, and spends his strength for 
 nought: he is blind to the thino;s which belonsj to 
 his peace. Jesus alone can speak peace to his labour- 
 ing heart. 
 
 How much, then, depends on the preaching and 
 believing of a pure gospel. In Christ there is a mine 
 of inexhaustible treasure to unfold ; the relation that 
 subsists between Christ and the Father, between 
 Christ and the sinner, between Christ and the be- 
 liever, is the proper work of the pulpit, and it is a 
 sufficient work, and profitable both to preacher and 
 
268 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 liearer. It lias, liowever, sometimes been suggested 
 tliat the pulpit might with profit be turned into a 
 platform, and the sacred hours of public worship 
 employed for the purpose of speculation, philosophical 
 discussion, and literary display. Such suggestions 
 show oreat ionorance and infatuation, and to encour- 
 age such things by manifesting a taste for them, and 
 running after them, on the part of the professing- 
 Christian, is no less fearful ; it is, in short, spiritual 
 madness. We would repeat, for in these days repeti- 
 tion is needful, that it is only belief of the ])nvQ, 
 gospel that can give peace to the heart of man. This 
 is the only method of Heaven to secure the well- 
 being of man. It is in Christ, and in Him alone, 
 that God hath abounded towards us in all wisdom 
 and prudence, and in no other way can the spirit of 
 man find peace. 
 
 It is clear, then, both from the nature of reconcilia- 
 tion itself, and the teachiuof of revelation concerning- 
 it, that faith is an essential condition to its realisation. 
 The believer by faith receives Christ, and in this 
 reception he receives the Divine Sonship, and enjoys 
 fellowship with His Father. Christ is the manifesta- 
 tion of the Father, the hypostasis of His person ; 
 hence, our Lord declares " he that hath seen Me hath 
 seen the Father also," Christ is also the " desire of all 
 nations," for He meets the spiritual wants and cravings 
 of our race after a divine nature ; and thus faith is 
 the substance ijiypostasis) of the thing hoped for, the 
 salvation lono; desired. 
 
 The fact that the writer of the Epistle to the 
 
CONDITION OF RE CONCILIA T20N. 2 6 9 
 
 Hebrews uses the same term {liypostasis) to denote 
 the substance of the Father's person and the believer's 
 faith, is not Avithout interest ; it points out to us the 
 union and basis of communion which subsists between 
 the believer and God. In giving this hypostasis, God 
 gives His subjective and objective to the believer, and 
 the believer in receiving it becomes one with the 
 Father, and thus faith is not only the condition but 
 also the realisation of reconciliation. " With open 
 face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord," 
 the believer is thus "changed into the same image 
 from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the 
 Lord." Faith, then, we repeat, is the evidence of the 
 thing hoped for, the conviction of the unseen, the 
 condition of reconciliation, the measure and medium 
 of spiritual and divine life in the soul of man. 
 
( 270 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 AGENT OF RECONCILIATION. 
 
 The power of reconciliation requires an agent to 
 apply it. Guilt, as we have seen, is such an awful 
 thing, that it cannot be looked at by the sinner in 
 itself, and as attached to him. It can calmly be 
 viewed by him only through the medium of an 
 atonement, i.e., in the reflected light of that power 
 which is able to rescue him from its burden. But 
 even with the aid of this light, the difficulty in the 
 way of the sinner contemplating his guilt is not got 
 over, for how is this light to be admitted by his 
 diseased organ of spiritual vision ? in other words, how 
 is the sinner to be got to contemplate his guilt, even 
 in the light of the atoning power which God has 
 provided ? This power of reconciliation is discernible 
 in the lio;ht of the self-sacrificincr of the Divine, but 
 how is the sinner to be brouo^ht to admire God in the 
 manifestation of His self-sacrificino: orace ? This is 
 the manifestation of the character of God which, 
 beyond all others, is most repulsive to the "carnal 
 mind." The admiration of the self-sacrificing love of 
 God requires, on the part of him who would admire 
 this, something akin to it in his own heart. This, 
 
A GENT OF RE CONCILIA TION. 2 7 1 
 
 however, the carnal mind abhors and from which it 
 recoils. Selfishness, which is the essence of the carnal 
 mind, cannot look with satisfaction on self-sacrificins: 
 grace. 
 
 How, then, is the diseased organ of the sinner to be 
 brought into sympathy with the spirit of self-sacri- 
 ficing love, that he may be able to repose in delightful 
 contemplation on this wonder of redeeming grace ? 
 There is only one way conceivable in which the 
 sinner can be brouo-ht to love, and delight himself in 
 view of the self-sacrificing love of God, and that is 
 by the renewing of the Holy Ghost — the bringing of 
 the subjective of the sinner into a oneness wdth the 
 subjective of God. Affinity of the subjective for the 
 objective is needful to the discernment of the objec- 
 tive in its own light. Thus a subjective sentient is 
 necessary to the discernment of the objects of sense, 
 A subjective rational is necessary to the perception 
 of objects which address themselves to reason, and a 
 subjective divine is necessary to the perception of 
 divine things. A stone, e.g., cannot perceive size, 
 colour, &c. A plant or an irrational animal cannot 
 perceive the force of an argument. So neither can 
 the "carnal mind" discern the glory of the self-sacri- 
 ficing, nor realise the things of the Spirit. An affinity 
 of spirit with Christ is necessary to tlie perception of 
 "the truth as it is in Jesus," for the natural man 
 receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither 
 can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned." 
 
 If there be disease instead of health in the eye, it 
 will neither receive the rays of light, nor look at 
 
272 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 objects in tlie liglit. It matters not liow lovely tlie 
 objects may be wliicli are presented to it, the pain 
 produced by tlie light will force it to slmt up itself in 
 darkness. Ere the diseased eye can be made to look 
 upon objects in tlic light, there must be such an 
 operation performed upon it as shall not only alleviate 
 its pain, but also make it pleasant to look at the 
 objects presented to it. Similarly there must be such 
 an operation performed on the spiritual organ of the 
 sinner's vision, as shall rescue him from pain in the 
 contemplation of the self-sacrificing, and make the 
 beholding of God's face in righteousness the joy and 
 rejoicing of his heart. 
 
 What, then, is this operation, and how is it to be 
 effected ? It is the quickening of the heart of man 
 with the love of the self-sacrificing. 
 
 Fallen man does not possess the love of " the truth 
 as it is in Jesus," he, on the contrary, hates the light 
 and avoids it because his deeds are evil. He does 
 not, indeed, hate truth in the abstract, he rather 
 delights in speculative knowledge, nor would he hate 
 the Divine self-sacrificing on his behalf could he 
 clearly see it in its own radiance ; but this is just 
 what he is unable to do, for this is only to be seen 
 through the medium of the consciousness of his own 
 inexcusable guilt. It is only as guilty that he can 
 accept of forgiveness, and it is only as he sees himself 
 inexcusably guilty that he can feel truly grateful for 
 such self-sacrifice on his behalf. But the conscious- 
 ness of such guilt is that which is most abhorrent to 
 the carnal mind ; hence to imbibe the spirit of the 
 
A GENT OF RE CONCILIA TION. 2 7 3 
 
 self-sacrificing, and deliglit in its deeds, is not possible 
 to the carnal mind. 
 
 The ''carnal mind" rises in indignation at the idea 
 of God coming to it in the im^^utation of sin, and 
 thus the "law worketh wrath." This is, in fact, the 
 inevitable result of sin in the experience of the 
 natural man when the law brings home to him the 
 conviction of guilt. Under the influence of divine 
 truth the carnal mind cannot but prove rebellious, 
 and it does so in accordance with the analogy referred 
 to, viz., that as the clear light shining into the weak 
 or diseased eye gives pain, and causes it to close itself 
 ao-ainst the lisfht, so the lic:ht of the radiance that 
 streams from the self-sacrificing love of God pains the 
 guilty spirit, and causes it to rise in rebellion against 
 it and prefer its own inner darkness. 
 
 Ere the truth which necessarily discloses the 
 sinner's character to himself can be received into the 
 heart of fallen man, the love of it must be implanted 
 within him, for if he hates the light, no exhibition of 
 light, however clear, will prevail upon him to receive 
 it. Even the merciful tempering of the truth by the 
 work of the Saviour will not prevail upon the sinner 
 to embrace it in the love of it, for even the loveliness 
 of this manifestation of the Divine must be appre- 
 hended through the conviction of guilt, and this is 
 the conviction which above all others the sinner dis- 
 likes. In order, therefore, to the sinner's reconcilia- 
 tion, there must not only be the creation of truth 
 adapted to his state and character, but there must also 
 
 s 
 
274 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 be the quickening of his heart with the love of that 
 truth. 
 
 How, then, is this state of matters to be brought 
 about in the life of the sinner? We believe that this 
 is only possible through the implantation of a new 
 principle of life, a new Christ-like disposition, a new 
 bias or bent being given to our whole spiritual nature. 
 In the change which thus takes place, and. with a view 
 to it, God comes to us by His Spirit and awakens 
 within us holy emotions, God-like desires, as He works 
 faith in us leading us to endorse and act out these 
 inner risings, as He works in us to will and to do of 
 His own good pleasure. 
 
 The Spirit of God, the agent of man's regeneration, 
 comes to him with " the truth as it is in Jesus," and 
 holds it up before the gaze of the human spirit while 
 by His own immediate act He touches the organ of 
 God-consciousness, and quickens the springs of vitality 
 in the soul with the love of the Divine. In this w^ork 
 let it be borne in mind the Spirit of God does not act 
 irrespective of, or in opposition to, man's nature, but 
 through means of it, and in entire accordance with the 
 free agency of man. God will in no way overlook 
 these things in any of His dealings with man, for, as 
 man fell in the exercise of his free responsible nature, 
 so must he rise in full accordance of the same thing. 
 
 The consciousness of man bears out the doctrine of 
 God's "Word on this important matter, for conscious- 
 ness reveals to man Ijoth the facts and the extent of 
 the Spirit's working in him, and, although he may 
 not be very quick to discern these facts now, he shall 
 
A GENT OF RE CONCILIA TION 2 7 5 
 
 afterwards be made fully aware of them. All wlio 
 have ever lived under the preaching of the gospel are 
 aware of the fact, that there has been in them at one 
 time or another the feeling after a better state of 
 beinof and condition of life, the awakenino; within 
 them of conviction of sin, and the stirring up of holy 
 dispositions. Now, Avhence came these inner risings ? 
 Not surely of Satan, the w^orld, or the corrupt heart 
 of man. Certainly not of the sinner himself, in any 
 sense, for this inspiration of heavenly thought and 
 desire is in direct opposition to the natural tendencies 
 of his heart, and as like produce like, these cannot be 
 the product of the "carnal mind." These risings are 
 the beginnings of the most precious possession which 
 the finite can ever hold, and in comparison with them 
 the whole world is but as a trifle to man. They are 
 the beginnings of the greatest work God Himself can 
 accomplish, and with a view to produce them, the 
 Spirit submits to resistance and grief; and to supply 
 the Spirit with the power of awakening these risings, 
 the Son of God shed His blood ; and to die the death, 
 the Father sent the Son into the world. 
 
 And every man is conscious of how he treats these 
 inner risings of the heavenly and Divine, he knows 
 whether he neglects, pays little or no attention to 
 them, resists, or cherishes them in his heart. If we 
 cherish and strengthen these inner risings in our 
 hearts, then do we yield ourselves up to the Spirit of 
 God, who works in us thus to wdll and to do of God's 
 good pleasure. He takes up His abode in us, and 
 we become, through His indwelling, temples of the 
 
2 76 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 livini>- God. But if, instead of fosterinor tliese risiiio-s, 
 tlie sinner strives to rid himself of tliem, then does 
 lie resist and grieve, and, perhaps, finally quench the 
 Spirit, and iu the cud it happens in his case, that 
 these awful words are applicable to him, " Whosoever 
 speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be 
 forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world 
 to come." 
 
 In resisting the inner risings of the Spirit, the 
 sinner refuses to repent and be converted, he prefers 
 his own way to the righteousness of God, and tries 
 to vindicate himself by an endeavour to roll the odium 
 of his state over on God, and in doing so he insults 
 the Almighty to His face. In refusing to believe 
 on the Son of God, the unbeliever commits the most 
 heinous sin that can be committed by any creature ; 
 a sin which goes beyond anything in the power of 
 demon or devil to do ; he disobeys the highest man- 
 date of his Father in heaven, he treats lightly the 
 most striking display of Divine authority, resists the 
 persuasive influence of the Holy Ghost, and despises 
 the compassion and mercy of God. 
 
 To be guilty of all this is to commit the sin which 
 is unto death, which those who are born of God can- 
 not commit. The inability to commit this sin is one 
 of the differences that exist between the reo^enerate 
 and the unregenerate. The uuregenerate ever strive 
 to justify themselves by attempting to make God the 
 real author of sin, whereas the regenerate, whensoever 
 they detect themselves in sin, instead of striving to 
 justify themselves, confess and bewail their sin. "I 
 
A GENT OF RE CONCILIA TION. 2 7 7 
 
 acknowledge my sin unto Tliee, and mine iniquity 
 have I not liid. I said I will confess my transgres- 
 sion unto tlie Lord, and Tliou forgavest tlie iniquity 
 of my sin." This is the view of sin and its guilt, 
 so far as we can see, that alone can sustain the con- 
 sistency of St. John, and, indeed, the unity of reve- 
 lation. John w^rites, " If we say that we have not 
 sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in 
 us." And again in another place, "Whosoever is 
 born of God doth not commit sin, for His seed 
 remaineth in him, and he cannot sin because he is 
 born of God. 
 
 The method, above indicated, of dealing with these 
 texts removes their apparent contradiction. There is 
 sin in the believer which is forgiven, and there is sin 
 in the impenitent which is never forgiven. And, we 
 may ask, how can the sin against the Holy Ghost be 
 forgiven ? This, in the very nature of things, is im- 
 possible ; the Holy Ghost is sinned against only by 
 stifling the inner risings of the heavenly and divine 
 vrhich He awakens within the sinner, and it is only 
 throuo'h these that He can calm the inner discord, and 
 secure reconciliation with the Father of spirits. K, 
 therefore, the sinner persists in keeping down these 
 risings, how can he realise the divine life within him? 
 And, if he persists in quenching them until he has 
 steeled his heart against all impressions of the Divine, 
 there is no power in the universe of God that can 
 rescue his soul from hell. 
 
 All life has, as our readers know, its beginning in 
 the embryo state, and is at first very feeble. If the 
 
278 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 embryo be clierisLecl, it develops itself into the vigour 
 of maturity ; but if it be neglected or crushed, it 
 2:)erishes. How important, then, that the sinner's 
 attention should be clearly directed to this fact in its 
 spiritual bearings. Man has not the power to create, 
 he can only indirectly produce life ; and in no way 
 can he produce his own life in any of its departments, 
 •sentient, intellectual, or spiritual. But while he can- 
 not produce his life, he may ruin or destroy it as 
 truly as he can ruin or destroy the lives of others ; 
 and here he wields a tremendous power, and incurs a 
 proportionate resjDonsibility. To this corresponds the 
 doctrine of Scripture — "this," says Jesus, "is the con- 
 demnation, that light is come into the world, and men 
 loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds 
 were evil." And herein lies the dread responsibility 
 of the sinner ; he cannot atone for his sins, nor discover 
 the truth which is to euliorhten his mind in regard to 
 the mercy of God, nor procure the influence of the 
 Spirit of all grace ; but he can quench the risings of 
 the Spirit in his heart. 
 
 In this fact the preacher has a powerful hold on the 
 conscience, for he can convict the sinner of quenching 
 the inner risings of the Divine, and clearly show to 
 him that he is committing a grievous form of sin. 
 He can drive him out of his refuge of lies, in connec- 
 tion with abstract questions about Divine decrees, &c., 
 and show him that in the consciousness of these inner 
 risings he has the evidence that God is dealing with 
 him personally in the matter of his salvation, and 
 that, if he continues to resist God in His gracious 
 
A GENT OF RE CONCILIA TION 2 7 9 
 
 work, lie not only commits an awful sin, but will 
 carry in liis own bosom to the Judgment Seat a wit- 
 ness tliat will rise to condemn liim. 
 
 But to proceed. In vision, there must be the 
 object to be seen, the light in which it is to be 
 viewed, and the eye which is to look upon it in the 
 light. If there be no object, there can be no vision ; 
 or, if there be an object and no light, there can be no 
 vision ; or, if there be no eye, or an eye diseased, there 
 will be no vision, or at best a distorted one. If the 
 diseased eye is to be brought into a healthy state, it 
 must be healed in accordance with the laws of health, 
 and not in opposition to these ; and if it is to see 
 clearly, it must be led to look at the object in the 
 light, in accordance with the laws or principles of 
 human vision. This point may be illustrated by a 
 reference to photograi^hy, in which art the image of 
 the human f;xce is conveyed to a sensitive sheet. 
 First of all, the image is transferred to a prepared 
 plate, and then from that to the prepared sheet. 
 Here we have, then, the countenance, the image of 
 which is to be transcribed, then the prepared j)late 
 which is to receive the image, and further, the light 
 which is t^ transfer the image, and finally, the agent 
 who is to bring the countenance into such a relation 
 to the sensitive plate as that the light shall transfer 
 the image correctly. If there be no countenance, 
 there can be no image to transcribe ; if there be no 
 light, there can be no transcription of an image ; if 
 there be no prepared plate to record and retain the 
 image, there can be no likeness obtained and pre- 
 
28o THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 served ; or, finally, if there be no agent to bring tlie 
 prepared plate into the j^roper focus for receiving the 
 image, there can be no photograph. 
 
 Thus is it, spiritually, in order to faith in the 
 
 mercy of God, there must be the manifestation of His 
 
 self-sacrificing love, the record of that manifestation, 
 
 a heart also in a state of sufficient jDrejDaration to 
 
 receive the truth as it is in Jesus, and, in addition, 
 
 an agent to bring the heart into the state in Avhich 
 
 it shall be willing to receive the truth in the love 
 
 of it. If the heart be not prepared with a view to 
 
 the rece^^tion of the truth, then in vain may you look 
 
 for an attentive listening to it. Disposition to attend 
 
 to the truth, and an inclination to receive it, is a 
 
 primary element of faith in Jesus, hence it is written 
 
 of those who perish, that they perish because they 
 
 " received not the love of the truth, that they must 
 
 be saved," and thus the Saviour addresses those that 
 
 rejected Him. "Ye will not come unto Me, that ye 
 
 might have life." "The truth as it is in Jesus" can 
 
 be received into the heart only where there is love to 
 
 it, and the producing of this love is the work of the 
 
 Holy Ghost. In brief, the AVord of God everywhere 
 
 teaches the doctrine that the Holy Spirit is the 
 
 Author of everything gracious and holy in man ; and 
 
 that through His operation alone, are we reconciled 
 
 to God by the death of His Son. 
 
(28l ) 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 CAPACITY OF THE HUMAN FOR THE INDWELLING OF 
 
 THE DIVINE, 
 
 God fills immensity, but neitlicr immensity nor tlie 
 material universe which space contains have any 
 capacity for the indwelling of God. God can only 
 impart Himself to, and dwell in, those who have been 
 made in His own image, for example, His offspring, 
 man. God is the Father of our spirits, and to prove 
 Himself to be such, is the one great end of all His 
 doin2;s. 
 
 A father, as such, cannot impart himself to the 
 locality in which he dwells, the time in which he lives, 
 the goods and chattels which he possesses, the ser- 
 vants he employs, or the friends with whom ho 
 associates ; these have no receptivity for him in his 
 outgoings as a father. A father can only impart 
 himself to his children, realise in them his paternal 
 delight, and be fully satisfied in his intercourse with 
 them. And to beget children in his own image, and 
 to delight himself in them, has been the profound 
 thought and cherished purpose of Godhead from un- 
 beffl'nninG; ao^es. 
 
 Immensity and duration have nothing of God in 
 
282 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 them, tlie countless worlds that are spread out in 
 the fields of space have nothing of the Divine in 
 their constitution. The various orders of sentient 
 and animated tribes have nothing of the spiritual in 
 them. The angelic hosts have nothing of the re- 
 deemed filial in them. These have no divine capacity 
 such as man, no receptivity nor filial instincts like 
 his. God can look abroad with admiration on 
 the work of His hands, and meditate on the purpose 
 of His mind, but it is only in His child, man, created 
 in His own image, that His heart can rest satisfied. 
 On man alone He lingers with Divine complacency, 
 while He calls this portion of His work "very 
 good." 
 
 Vast and immeasurable as are space and eternity, 
 God cannot stamp Himself upon tliem. Great and 
 glorious as irrational creation is, God cannot impart 
 His life to it. High and holy as the heavenly hosts 
 are, God cannot create them anew in the image of 
 His Son. Acting in accordance with the nature of 
 things, God fills immensity with His presence, and 
 dwells in eternity, calls creation into being, and 
 employs His angels as "ministering spirits," but He 
 inbreathes the breath of life only into man, and begets 
 in the renewed spirit His own life. Space is His 
 chamber. Eternity the measure of His days, Crea- 
 tion the manifestation of His power and goodness, 
 but humanity is His offspring, the true image of 
 Himself. He holds no fellowship with space and 
 eternity, nor can these be filled with all the fulness 
 of God. The heaven of heavens cannot contain Him, 
 
INDWELLING OF TILE DLVLNE. 283 
 
 and yet tlie finite spirit of man can. He dwells 
 incarnate in the temple of liumanity. He reigns in 
 the hearts of His children, and rests in the love of 
 the redeemed. Beyond this He has no desire, " This 
 is My rest for ever, here will I dwell for I have 
 desired it." 
 
 But God dwells not in the heart of all humanity. 
 Fallen humanity has a capacity, but not a receptivity 
 for God. The capabilities of fallen man are guarded 
 against the entrance of God by the demon spirit and 
 corrupt passions of sin, and his intellect is closed by 
 prejudice against the entrance of the truth. The life 
 of fallen man is consecrated to the service of self, and 
 thus it happens that the nature wdiich is nearest to 
 God's own, is at the same time at the farthest possible 
 distance from Him ; and in its fallen condition all the 
 glorious possibilities of which it is capable are lost. 
 We may, therefore, well exclaim, " Oh, what a spectacle 
 to the eye of Omniscience is rebel humanity ! " A 
 child of immortality, an heir of God, created in the 
 likeness of the Father of spirits, gifted with capacity 
 for the indwelling of the Divine, and capable of enter- 
 ing into fellowship with God, absorbed in self, in love 
 wdth the carnal, and governed by a spirit defiant of 
 God, engrossed with the cares of a purely earthly life, 
 and alone anxious to satisfy itself with the things of 
 sense and the efi"orts of vain glorying. 
 
 But all this was foreseen, and a purpose formed for 
 the casting out of Satan from the heart, and for the 
 entire regeneration of the spirit of man into the life 
 of God. With this end in view the incarnation in 
 
284 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 the fulness of the time was resolved upon in order to 
 overcome the powers of darkness ere man was brought 
 into existence, and to exhibit what humanity in union 
 with divinity was capable of becoming. The sacri- 
 ficial death of the Son of God was determined on, and 
 the striving of the Holy Ghost secured, to overcome 
 the rebellious disposition. 
 
 That a spirit created for the indwelling of God 
 should be the subject of aversion and dislike to the 
 Godlike, and the abode of demons, is certainly a deep 
 mystery and matter of amazement. Yet the awful 
 fact is patent to the observation of all, and cannot be 
 denied. But that, on the other hand, a father should 
 mourn over the disobedience of a child, and desire the 
 recovery of a lost son, and earnestly exert himself 
 with a view to his recovery ; that a father should 
 display the highest perfections of his being in the 
 reclaiming of his lost child, and rejoice with his most 
 sacred joy over his recovery; this at least should 
 be no matter of amazement to the possessor of 
 humanity, while it is a matter of the highest encour- 
 airement to the sinner. 
 
 And that the life of one reclaimed from sin, and re- 
 stored to his father's favour, should be more grateful, 
 and watchful, and fervent in devotion, is quite in ac- 
 cordance with the nature and experience of man ; but 
 the perversion of sin prevents even the renewed son 
 from altogether acting upon this confidence, as becomes 
 him, in the present state. 
 
 The spirit of pride must be broken and crushed, 
 banished from the heart ere God can dwell in it, 
 
INDWELLING OF THE DIVINE. 285 
 
 or work in it by love. God cannot dwell where there 
 is unrighteousness, or a spirit which cherishes mean 
 grovelling dispositions. The spirit in which these 
 dwell is more distant from God than even material 
 heino; or sentient life. But all that is needed to save 
 the sinner, and raise his soul to the loftiest condition 
 of finite existence, is simply to expel the rel3el spirit 
 from the soul, and enthrone God on the heart. 
 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the 
 kingdom of heaven." Yes, this rebel disposition, now 
 that Christ has ascended, and the Holy Spirit de- 
 scended, is the only obstacle, the one grand impedi- 
 ment, to the salvation of every soul of man unsaved. 
 Everything that the nature of the case requires is 
 present, and has been provided for ; there is in every 
 human spirit a capacity deep as the Infinite, and 
 abiding as the Eternal. There is in the heart of the 
 Father a desire g-racious as His own self-sacrificiiio; 
 love, restrained in its operation only by the limits 
 imposed by the individual capacity of man ; there is 
 in the Son a boundless sufficiency ; and there is 
 in the Spirit an infinite readiness. But in opposition 
 to this, the capacity of the human is filled with 
 a spirit of antagonism to God, which guards its every 
 avenue against the entrance of the Spirit of God ; and 
 to expel this usurper from the throne of the human 
 heart, requires all the skill, prudence, and omnipotence 
 of the God of grace. For as man freely drank in the 
 spirit of darkness, and willingly entered into an 
 alliance with the enemy of God, so must he also 
 freely drink in the spirit of holiness, and as willingly 
 
2S6 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIIE. 
 
 " kiss the Son " in Lis return to tlie Father, and in 
 yielding himself up to the reigning powers of God's 
 grace. 
 
 A physician has a satisfaction pure and deep in 
 restoring his patient to health ; a teacher has a like 
 satisfaction in aiding the progress of his pupil in 
 education ; but the father's joy surpasses them all 
 in seeing his child grow up in health and happiness ; 
 and so of the Heavenly Physician, Teacher, and 
 Father. The physician knows that his patient is 
 sick, and treats him not as convalescent. The teacher 
 knows that his pupil has only made some progress in 
 learning, and so he treats him not as an accomplished 
 scholar. The father understands the inexperience of 
 childhood and youth, and with tenderness guides his 
 son not as an adult, but as a child ; and on this prin- 
 ciple acts the Heavenly Father, Teacher, and Spiritual 
 Physician. 
 
 There are to be overcome in the believer, the weak- 
 ness, awkwardness, and inexperience of an imperfect 
 sanctification, for these chiefly stand in the way of 
 his constant and unqualified reception of tlie Divine. 
 Hence Christ will always have to say to His disciples 
 to the end of the age, " I have many things to say 
 unto you, but you cannot bear them now." 
 
 The disciples of every age have manifested a greater 
 readiness to bring Christ over to their notions, than 
 an eagerness implicitly to drink in His spirit, and to 
 be conformed to Him in all their ways. To yield 
 unqualifiedly the spirit and life, to the reception of 
 
INDWELLING OF THE DIVINE. 287 
 
 tlie Diviue, is all that tlie quickened spirit needs to 
 its complete glory and joy, but the disciples on cartli 
 have not yet learned how to comply with the simple 
 and important necessity of their wellbeing, hence 
 there is no truth more important for us to realise 
 than this, viz., that God is possessed of all the influ- 
 ence and instrumentality necessary for the complete 
 salvation of every believer ; that He has perfectly 
 formed His plan ; that He kindly cherishes His pur- 
 pose, and that He works by His Spirit in the heart 
 of every believer, to will and to do of His good 
 pleasure ; and that all that is now needed on the part 
 of His children, is their hearty co-working with Him, 
 in His carrying out into completion the gracious and 
 glorious design of His heart, to fill them " with all 
 the fulness of God." 
 
 God, in the transformation of the spirit, and re- 
 newal of the life of man, is working out the high 
 problems of His grace, to the admiration and delight 
 of "the principalities and powers in heavenly 
 places." He does not look upon His redeemed ofl- 
 spring as slaves to be treated as property, nor as 
 subjects to be reigned over, nor as friends to be 
 occasionally visited, but as children, part of His own 
 household, to whose education and training He con- 
 secrates Himself. To renew the life and raise the 
 spirit of man to more than its pristine purity ; to 
 impress on the human soul divine perfection, in 
 higher measure than He has impressed it on angel 
 nature, and to quicken the human with His own 
 
2S5 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 divine life, is the great end He lias in view in all His 
 doino;s. 
 
 In all tills, tlie Heavenly Father in the midst of His 
 family is not an imperial ruler, He is simply the 
 Father in all His infinite tenderness, unfolding to 
 them His divine perfections, and imparting to them 
 His inmost life. He not only causes streams of light 
 from His outer works to illuminate their understand- 
 ing, but He also j^ours forth emanations of His own 
 blessed life into them up to the measure of their 
 capacity of reception. He not only transcribes on the 
 spirit the lineaments of His life, but He also fills 
 them with His own indwelling person. 
 
 No thoughtful father is satisfied merely with the 
 birth and embrace of a son, his desire and aim is to 
 raise that son to the closest and fullest enjoyment of 
 his own life, and he would be pained in the highest 
 degree were he to see him rising into a life of rebellion 
 against him. Nor is the desire of the Divine Father, 
 in reference to His children, different from the desire 
 of the genuine affections of an earthly joarent. And 
 of this fact, God has given the most amj)le proof in 
 all that aj^pertains to the redemption of the world by 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 AVho, then, can fully estimate the grandeur and 
 importance of the sinner's conversion to God ? It is 
 the commencement of the ascent of the immortal 
 spirit of man through the descent of the Eternal Son 
 of God into this region of dead souls ; it is the reali- 
 sation of spiritual poverty, through the action of the 
 
INDWELLING OF THE DIVINE. 289 
 
 qiiickeDing Spirit ; the return of tlie prodigal son to 
 his gracious Father, through the drawing near of the 
 love of God ; it is the yielding up of the life to God 
 through a perception and reception of " the truth as 
 it is in Jesus." 
 
 How great, then, is the capacity of the human for 
 the Divine ! and how lofty the dignity of the inner 
 life of man, as quickened and led by the S|)irit of 
 God ! How ravishing the fellowship of the filial circle, 
 drawn around the Father in His house of "many 
 mansions ! " and what is there that the sons of God 
 can be denied, if it is at all consistent with their well- 
 being ? 
 
 The filial heart is the best of all blessings which 
 man can possess ; let him acquire what he may, and 
 attain to whatever he may set his heart upon, if he is 
 without the filial heart he is an imperfect, restless, 
 dissatisfied being. The production of this heart, how- 
 ever, is the work of the Holy Ghost striving with 
 the sinner, quickening his spirit, and energising his 
 risen life. And this work of the Spirit in the spirit 
 of man is the most God-like production of the God- 
 head, — the work of God, travelling in the greatness 
 of His strength, mighty to save ; and not without good 
 reason might the Saviour ask, " What is a man profited 
 if he should gain the whole world and lose his own 
 soul ? and what shall a man give in exchange for his 
 soul ? " 
 
 The filial heart of man is that alone of all finite 
 being which can give the full response to God as the 
 Father. And it is that which God values most. His 
 
 T 
 
290 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 Father-heart can rest in nothing short of the per- 
 fection of the filial heart in His childr-en, and the 
 reason it can be satisfied with nothing short of this, 
 is to be found in the nature of the Father's heart, and 
 in that alone. 
 
( 291 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 RECEPTION OF CHRIST. 
 
 If the human spirit is ushered into conscious life in 
 a state of aversion to the Godlike, and if the man 
 grows up in a state of error, and in conflict with the 
 manifestations of the Divine, with which mankind has 
 been favoured, then must he descend in the scale 
 of life, and become the subject of torment to himself 
 and a power of injury to others. If, however, the 
 fouudation of a new course of life is laid within him, 
 if he becomes the possessor of new biasses in the 
 direction of holiness by the implantation of a new 
 principle of life, then must he rise in the scale of 
 being ; and this state man realises and attains to 
 in yielding himself up to the Spirit of God, in his 
 acceptance of Christ through belief " of the truth as 
 it is in Jesus." 
 
 In all cases, as is well known, the reception of 
 anything is determined by the nature of the thing 
 received. Our reception of a friend is conditioned by 
 the laws or usages of friendship. Our reception of 
 wealth is among other things conditioned on our 
 steady application to business, &c. Our acceptance 
 of health is conditioned on our attendance to the laws 
 
293 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. ■ 
 
 of health. And a simihxr statemeut may be made 
 relative to all the things we are capable of receiving 
 and enjoying. 
 
 And as it is socially so is it spiritually. Our 
 reception of Christ is also conditioned, and, according 
 to the point of view from which we regard Him, is 
 the condition of the reception which is accorded. As 
 is well known, Christ may be received historically, 
 ecclesiastically, and spiritually. Holding the gospel 
 narratives as true accounts, is the condition of 
 receiving Christ historically, Eegarding Christ as 
 the founder of the Church, and professing belief in 
 His doctrines, is the condition of receiving Him 
 ecclesiastically. And believing Him to be the Son 
 of God to the saving of the soul, is the condition of 
 receiving Him spiritually. This latter, of course, 
 overlaps the two former modes of viewing Him. 
 
 The careful observer of human life can have no 
 doubt of the fact that some men change in the spirit 
 of their lives, become the subjects of new dispositions, 
 and are influenced and actuated by difierent princi- 
 ples from those which formerly governed them. 
 Some profane persons become pious, some infidels 
 become believing, some implacable become merciful, 
 some licentious become pure, some intemperate 
 become temperate, some vicious become virtuous, 
 and some slothful become energetic. And this 
 change in their lives is affected, not merely or chiefly 
 by a resolve or an idea taking possession of them, 
 but by a new disposition, a new spirit produced in 
 them by the Holy Ghost in leading them to receive 
 
RECEPTION OF CHRIST. 293 
 
 tlie Son of God. The clianges usually effected in 
 men's lives by means of new ideas are transient ; 
 whereas, the change accomplished in receiving a new 
 spirit is permanent, and this is realised through 
 means of a man's acceptance of Christ, 
 
 To receive Christ spiritually as already indicated, 
 we must receive Him as the Son of God, and yield 
 ourselves up to the influence of this truth plied by 
 the Holy Spirit. Keceiving Christ thus, we receive 
 Him in His Spirit, and become one with Him, " He 
 that is joined to the Lord is one Spirit." 
 
 When Christ ascended on high He received gifts 
 for men, even for the rebellious ; and the first gift 
 which He received was the great Aj^-ent of man's 
 salvation, viz., the Holy Ghost, and the first great 
 manifestation of this gift was on the first Pentecost 
 after His Ascension. And the work of this great 
 Agent is to bring sinners to the faith of the Gospel, 
 and then to take up His abode in the believer's heart 
 with a view to enlighten him, and satisfy him with 
 the joys of salvation. Hence, when the Spirit works 
 in the believer the good- will of God, he bears witness 
 with his Spirit that he is a child of God, and seals 
 him to the day of redemption. And, until a man 
 has this Spirit of Christ, he is none of His, he has no 
 spiritual life in him, but in receiving the Spirit he 
 becomes alive from the dead, and lives unto God in 
 newness of life. 
 
 By receiving Christ in his spirit, the believer 
 receives Him in his mind. It is the function of the 
 Spirit to take the things which are Christ's, and show 
 
294 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 them unto the believer. " He shall glorify me," says 
 Jesus, " for he shall receive of Mine, aod shall show it 
 unto you." 
 
 We receive the mind of Christ, not by speculation, 
 nor by vain dreaming, nor by human tradition, nor by 
 the study of nature, but by the Holy Ghost working 
 faith in us. The Spirit imparts to us a love of the 
 truth, and produces within us a disposition to search 
 the ScrijDtures with a teachable heart. He gives us a 
 relish for the things of God, and kindles in us a desire 
 after the knowledge of God, which is in Christ Jesus. 
 He inclines us to wait on the ordinances which are 
 of Divine appointment, helps us in our supplications, 
 and affords us glimpses of the things which are un- 
 speakable and full of glory. 
 
 In thus receiving Christ, we become identified with 
 Him in His perceptions of truth. We receive His 
 view of the Father, Son, and Spirit, in all that these 
 are to us, and in all that they have done for us. 
 Hence, Paul prays on behalf of the Ephesian saints, 
 " that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ may give 
 you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the know- 
 ledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being 
 enlightened that ye may know what is the hope of His 
 calling, and what the riches of the glory of His 
 inheritance in the saints." And again, in another 
 epistle, he prays that believers might be " filled with 
 the knowledge of His will, in all wisdom and spiritual 
 understanding," but on this point, it is needless to 
 multiply quotations. 
 
 When the believer receives Christ in his spirit and 
 
RECEPTION OF CHRIST. 295 
 
 mind, he also receives Him into his life. They live 
 for Him, they live in Him, and they live by Him. 
 The source and motive power of their whole life is 
 Christ, "because as He is, so are we in the world." 
 They love what He loves, and hate what He hates, 
 and pursue what He pursues. They do not live unto 
 themselves, but unto their Saviour ; and the law of 
 their life is laid down in these words, "For whether 
 we live, we live unto the Lord, and whether we die, 
 we die unto the Lord : whether we live, therefore, or 
 die, we are the Lord's." 
 
 Paul tells us that we are quickened together with 
 Christ, even when we were dead in sins, hence he can 
 say, "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." 
 And in another place, he says, " AVhen Christ, who is 
 our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with 
 Him in glory." And yet again, " For we which live, 
 are always delivered unto death, for Jesus' sake," 
 
 When the believer receives Jesus in his spirit, 
 mind, and life, he receives Him also in his righteous- 
 ness. Christ in Himself has always stood in right 
 relation to His Father. And in His work, in His 
 people, and on their behalf, He occupies a righted 
 relation to the law, and justice, and God, and thus 
 the believer through Him receives a readjusted 
 standing before God and man. All the caj^acities of 
 his being are now open to the rece^^tion of the out- 
 goings of the Divine, and to the inflowinos of the 
 Christian into his soul, and hence all the powers and 
 functions of his life are exerted in accordance with 
 the conditions and obligations of his well being. 
 
296 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 The foregoing is just what sinful man needs. Man, 
 in a sinful state, is like a plant out of the ground, 
 and, therefore, not in a right relation to the soil on 
 which its life necessarily depends. The sinner is not 
 in a state of union and communion with God, and, 
 therefore, cannot consecrate the functions of his life to 
 the glory of God, in the promotion of his own well- 
 being, and that of others. In his reception of Christ, 
 however, he is brought into that relation to God, in 
 which the capacities of his soul are opened up to the 
 inflowing of the Divine, and the energies of his spirit 
 are all consecrated to the service of God. And in 
 this way his sanctification is carried forward, by the 
 power of the Holy Ghost working within him the 
 good- will and pleasure of God. 
 
 In receiving Christ and that righteousness which 
 He wrought for man, and which is imputed to him 
 by faith alone, the sinner undergoes a thorough 
 radical change, in reference to God and His holy law. 
 "Such," says the apostle to believers, "were some of 
 you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye 
 are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 and by the Spirit of our God," and thus it is that 
 "God is in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, 
 not imputing their trespasses unto them," but, on the 
 contrary, imputing " the righteousness of God, which 
 is by faith in Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them 
 that Ijelieve." 
 
 God, in bringing men into the faith of the Gospel 
 of His Son, is bringing them into readjusted relations 
 with Himself, and with the conditions of their own 
 
RECEPTION OF CHRIST. 297 
 
 wellbeing, hence Christ is our righteousness, and we 
 are rigliteous in Him. 
 
 The believer is identified with Christ, regarded by 
 God as one with Him, hence the apostle's expressed 
 wish to "be found in Him, not having mine own 
 righteousness which is by the law, but that which is 
 through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which 
 is of God by faith." 
 
 Moreover, in receiving Christ in his mind, spirit, 
 life, and righteousness, the believer receives Him 
 also in His glory. If the believer stands before the 
 boundless riches of sovereign grace with all the 
 avenues of his being open to its inflow, then must he 
 receive Christ in His glory. This glory arises out of 
 the beauty of righteousness and the radiance of 
 character which, through Christ, the believer is led to 
 assume ; hence our blessed Lord, in addressing His 
 Father on behalf of His disciples, says, " The glory 
 which Thou hast given Me I have given unto them, ' 
 and Paul says that " when Christ who is our life shall 
 appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory." 
 And He shall at His coming change our vile body, 
 that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious 
 body, and we shall be changed ; even now we are 
 changing from glory to glory. As the light falling 
 upon the camera transcribes the image to the prepared 
 plate, so does the light of the glorious gospel of the 
 grace of God shining into the heart of the believer 
 transcribe to his life the glorious image of the ever 
 blessed Jesus. 
 
 And when the believer receives the Eedeemer in 
 
298 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 the manner above indicated, he also receives Him in 
 His joy. The consciousness of union and communion 
 with Christ, in the various elements of spiritual life 
 indicated, must awaken within the believer "the joy 
 of the Lord," having Christ in him the hope of glory, 
 he must have Him also at the same time the well- 
 spring of his joy. From this point of view the 
 Saviour stood and cried on the great day of one of 
 the Jewish festivals, "If any man thirst, let him come 
 unto Me and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the 
 scriptures hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers 
 of living water." 
 
 As the mighty oak, when shaken by the violence of 
 the tempest, darts its roots more firmly into the soil, 
 so the disciples, when their creature sources of joy and 
 comfort fiiil them, when persecuted by men and devils, 
 fall back on Christ Himself, and evermore realise the 
 opening up of the well-springs of the Divine in the 
 inner depths of their spirits, hence Christ said to them, 
 " These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye 
 might have peace ; in the world ye shall have tribula- 
 tion, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world;" 
 and on behalf of His disciples He thus prays to His 
 Father : " And now I come unto Thee, and these 
 things I speak in the world, that they might have my 
 joy fulfilled in themselves." 
 
 Such, then, is the reception of God's Son by the 
 believer, and what, we may ask, is so conducive and 
 even necessary to human wellbeing as is this recep- 
 tion ? Without Christ, fallen man is a longing, per- 
 plexed, and suffering creature, struggling after an 
 
RECEPTION OF CHRIST. 299 
 
 escape from liis woes, but by liis very efforts to better 
 his state only plunging liimself more deeply into 
 miser}^ Christ is, indeed, the greatest gift God can 
 bestow upon man, no other acquisition can meet his 
 necessities or alleviate his distress in any permanent 
 shape. What infatuation, then, in the sinner to refuse, 
 or delay, his reception of Christ ! And what con- 
 descension on the part of the Father to give up the 
 Son of His love, and of the Son to come into the 
 Tvorld to take up His abode in man, and also of the 
 Holy Spirit to apply Christ to the sinner I 
 
 This reception, however, of Christ is by no means 
 perfect and complete in its first beginnings on earth. 
 The work of sanctification is progressive. The recep- 
 tion of Christ begins with the quickening of the spirit 
 of man with the Divine life, and is completed in the 
 full manifestation of the Godhead in the glory of the 
 perfect state above, when, seeing Him as He is, " we 
 shall be like Him." Blessed consummation of Divine 
 grace ! 
 
( 300 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 ti/je: indwelling of the divine in the human. 
 
 By indwelling we mean residing in and operating 
 through means of another. Of the possibility of this, 
 or rather of the fact itself, we have clear proof. The 
 soul dwells in the body and acts through it, and this 
 indwellinof of the soul makes all the difference between 
 a dead body and a living man. Knowledge dwells 
 in, and operates through means of, the faculties of 
 the mind. This is realised by all intelligent persons 
 in the experience of daily life. The difference between 
 the ignorant and the learned, is the indwelling of 
 knowledge in the understanding of the one, and the 
 absence of it from the mind of the other. Disposition, 
 asain, resides in the heart of man, and reveals itself 
 in all the acts of his daily life ; this is recognised by 
 all men everj'where, and they form their judgments 
 and frame their intercourse accordingly. 
 
 Now, as really as the soul dwells in the body and 
 acts through it, as really as knowledge dwells in the 
 mind and reveals itself by means of the mental facul- 
 ties, and as surely as disposition dwells in the heart 
 and manifests itself in the conduct, so surely do 
 Fatlier, Sou, and Holy Spirit dwell in the believer's 
 
INDWELLING OF THE DIVINE. 301 
 
 spirit, and act througli liis life. Hence, says tlie 
 apostle in pregnant words wliich can bear frequent 
 repetition, " I live, yet not I, but Clirist liveth in me," 
 and Jesus Himself referring to the same thing says, 
 " I in them, and Thou in Me." And God. even, long 
 before, had said of humanity in far more emphatic 
 terms than He ever said of Zion, *' This is My rest for 
 ever : here will I dwell, for I have desired it." 
 
 Creation indicates the necessity of the indwelling 
 of the Divine in the human, and Incarnation proves 
 the fact itself. Look at Jehovah, if we may dare so 
 to speak, toiling up the heights of creation, througli 
 the dreary waste of ages from the first formation of 
 chaos to the completion of His great and beneficent 
 work, and what do we see but God preparing an 
 abode for Himself in the spirit of His child, man. 
 The crowning act of creation was, when God formed 
 man out of the dust of the ground, and, into His own 
 image thus formed, breathed the breath of life, His 
 own living Spirit. Creation and Redemption are pre- 
 paratory to the indwelling of the Divine in the human, 
 and the completion of salvation will exhibit God 
 taking up His full and everlasting abode in, and along 
 with. His redeemed children. 
 
 The indwelling of the Divine in the human might 
 be arirued in the followino; manner : All finite exist- 
 ence is dependent on God, but all finite existence 
 does not realise alike its dependence. The nature 
 which is nearest in the scale of being to God is that 
 which, in one sense, is most dependent upon Him, 
 which certainly most of all is capable of realising 
 
302 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 its dependence, and so must be tlie first and closest 
 link of connection between God and creation. Now, 
 as far as known to ns, man is of all finite existence 
 the nearest to God, being created in His own image, 
 and, therefore, is the best suited to His indwelling. 
 
 If, then, man's nature be nearest to God's nature 
 in the scale of being, and through which He operates 
 on creation ; the fall of man may not only have 
 deeply afi'ected Himself, but the whole creation on 
 which God thus operates ; and that such seems really 
 to be the case, is borne out by these words, viz., 
 "The whole creation groaneth and travaileth together 
 in pain." 
 
 But whatever may be thought of the foregoing 
 view of the case, the indwelling of God is not left 
 to the discovery of reason, for nothing is more forcibly 
 insisted on in Scripture, "Ye are the temple of the 
 living God ; as God hath said, I will dwell in them." 
 " Whoever will confess that Jesus is the Christ, God 
 dwelleth in him." " If a man love me," says Jesus, 
 " he A\ill keep My words, and My Father will love him, 
 and we will come unto him and make our abode with 
 liim." Scripture to this eff'ect might be indefinitely 
 multiplied, but it were needless to advance anything 
 further, in order to show what the teaching of God's 
 Word is, in regard to the doctrine in hand. 
 
 It is very true that we knoAv nothing of the liow 
 of this indwelling, it is the profound mystery of 
 existence. But the how of all indwelling is to us 
 unknown and mysterious. What, e.^., do we know 
 of lioiD the soul dwells in the body ? yet the fact of 
 
INDWELLING OF THE DIVLNE. 303 
 
 its indwelling is clear and patent to all. Mj'stery is 
 connected with every sphere of human knowledge, and 
 many of these mysteries are beyond the ken of 
 mortals, and this ought to be matter of gratitude to 
 us, for it shows us that no limit can be set to our 
 progress in knowledge. But because a theme of 
 contemplation may be closely allied with the un- 
 known, or a high phase of truth with the mysterious, 
 it is none the less real or important on that account, 
 but only the more so. And it is our imperative duty 
 not to let it alone, but to apjDroach the study of 
 it with the greater caution and meekness. Mystery 
 is not contradiction nor absurdity, but the deep rela- 
 tion of things undisclosed, unperceived links of being, 
 or uncomprehended operations of existence. Mystery 
 is profound truth, and w^hat is mysterious to us now, 
 may be known to an angel, and what is mysterious 
 to an angel, is known to God. This indwelling of 
 which we speak, is, indeed, mysterious to the intellect 
 of man, but not unknown to the heart, nor unrealised 
 in the life of the believer. And as we advance in the 
 life of faith, into the visions of the unseen, we shall 
 know more and more of the glorious indwelling, for 
 the realisation of which creation itself was called into 
 being, the Son of God Incarnated, and for which the 
 Spirit of God has energised from age to age. 
 
 And what is there in the constitution of the 
 universe, in as far as our knowledge of it extends, 
 more natural than is the indwelling: of the soul in the 
 body, an indwelling which constitutes the physical 
 life of man. This indwellinsi is in accordance with 
 
304 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 the original constitution of tilings, for it is not natural 
 for man to die. Death is an abnormal state from 
 which we naturally shrink back, it is only a possibility 
 of our bcino:, and is the result of violence done to the 
 human constitution. It is the separating of the 
 component parts of his existence and the result of sin. 
 By sin death entered into the world, and death along 
 with it, and so " death passed upon all men, for that 
 all have sinned." 
 
 And why has the body received its present consti- 
 tution, its skin, flesh, muscles, &c. ? Jast that it 
 mio-ht be the fit abode of the soul ; it has been created 
 
 o 
 
 purposely for the indwelling of the soul ; therefore, 
 when the soul is removed from the body, the body 
 returns to the dust again. It is this indwelling soul 
 that imparts constitutional form, graceful and free 
 action to the body ; it does not coerce the limbs of the 
 body, nor enskave it in any of its functions, but only 
 affords to it and secures for it free unfettered consti- 
 tutional action. A body from which the soul has 
 departed may be made to move by the application of 
 an electric battery, but such motion is not free con- 
 stitutional action. 
 
 AVhat, again, is more natural in the rational order 
 of being, than that knowledge should dwell in the 
 human mind, act in the understanding, and reign in 
 the intellect ; for the human mind has been created 
 with the fiiculties of perception, comparison, inference, 
 &c., in order to contemplate, receive, and enjoy truth, 
 and truth has been revealed in its manifold forms, 
 and through its numerous channels, in order that the 
 
INDWELLING OF THE DIVINE. 305 
 
 mind of man should be increased in knowledge, culti- 
 vated and enlarged. Ignorance and error enslave the 
 understanding and hold the mind in bondage ; but 
 truth known enlightens the mind, energises the 
 faculties, and sets free the intellect. 
 
 But, further, nothing is more natural in the sphere 
 of the spiritual than that meek, gentle, and gene- 
 rous dispositions should hold sway in the spirit 
 of man. The spirit of man has been called into 
 existence with capacity, and endowed with receptivity 
 for the indwelling of meek, gentle, and generous dis- 
 positions ; and to be moved by such dispositions into 
 vigorous action constitutes the life and liberty of the 
 spirit of man, whereas, selfish, wrathful, and revengeful 
 dispositions, enslave the soul and hold the spirit of 
 man in direful bondage. 
 
 Advancing now beyond these things, there is no- 
 thing within the range of finite existence more natural 
 to humanity than that God should dwell in the spirit, 
 reign in the life, and act in the soul of man, and be 
 ever present in pure and blissful fellowship with the 
 believer. God cannot, indeed, dwell in sinful humanity; 
 this would be the most unnatural of all things. God 
 can draw near to sinful humanity only in the sense of 
 awakening and intensifying the consciousness of guilt, 
 showing the man his sin, and thus shutting him up in 
 the prison-house of remorse and despair. After this 
 fashion God dealt with the world when in the exercise 
 of His longsuffering kindness He withdrew Himself 
 into thick darkness on the first entrance of sin into 
 
 the world. But God can dwell in sanctified humanity; 
 
 u 
 
3o6 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 indeed, this is His cliief deliglit, His supreme joy. 
 Eedeemed humanity is the cliosen temple of the Lord 
 God, "This people have I formed for Myself." 
 
 How preposterous, then, is it to talk of religion or 
 Christian life degrading humanity, enslaving the soul, 
 and tormenting the spirit of man. Life, health, and 
 energy do not enslave the body ; truth, knowledge, 
 and understanding do not enslave the mind ; meek, 
 gentle, and unselfish dispositions do not enslave the 
 spirit. Why, then, should the indwelling of God, 
 which is as natural as any of these, enslave the soul ? 
 Rather, it is the indwelling of God alone that eman- 
 cipates the spirit and secures true liberty. It is the 
 indwelling of God that imparts energy to the faculties, 
 liofht to the understandinf!^, and direction to the will : 
 therefore, it is written, '' Where the Spirit of the Lord 
 is there is liberty," and " If the Son shall make you 
 free, ye shall be free indeed." This is at once true, 
 and richly philosophical. 
 
 Eeader, this overwhelming theme is as true as it is 
 grand and mysterious 1 Yes, blessed be God, it is the 
 niiost natural of all things that the Lord Almighty 
 should dwell in sanctified humanity ; and this is the 
 pledge and the actuality of all true and abiding 
 liberty to man. And how great is the beauty which 
 this indwelling imparts to the soul of man ! There is 
 no natural thinjy so beautiful as the human bodv in- 
 dwelt by a pure spirit. AVhen God completed His 
 work of creation, in the formation of man, He pro- 
 nounced it "very good." 
 
 In the persons of our first parents, during their 
 
INDWELLING OF THE DIVINE. 307 
 
 innocence, tlie human body presented to the discern- 
 ing eye the loveliest object on which it could gaze. 
 And when the body of man shall be raised, like unto 
 the '•' glorious body " of the Son of God, then shall be 
 seen again the highest perfection of material beauty. 
 And all this loveliness shall be the result of a pure 
 spirit, possessing a perfect body, the perfected work 
 of the indwelling of the Divine. 
 
 There is nothing within the sphere of intellectual 
 existence so beautiful as the mind of man indwelt by 
 truth ; in comparison with this, material beauty, how- 
 ever great, is poor indeed ; in f^ict, the loveliest displays 
 of material beauty are those which indicate intellec- 
 tual greatness. The mind of man, irradiated with the 
 light of truth, shines in the loveliness of the Divine. 
 The outflowings from the human lips of sanctified 
 intellect, whether poetic, scientific, philosophical, or 
 theological, is a pure and elevating enjoyment 
 indeed. 
 
 The human soul also is very beautiful when pos- 
 sessed of meek, godlike dispositions. Such a soul is, 
 above all others, the resting place, the chosen habita- 
 tion of God ; in it Jehovah delights to manifest the 
 glory of His infinite perfection. 
 
 But more beautiful than all is the human spirit 
 filled with all the fulness of God. Within the bound- 
 less range of the All-seeing eye, there is nothing so 
 gratifying to the heart of God as is the soul in which 
 He himself thus dwells, nothing on which His eye 
 can rest with such complacency and delight. 
 
 The necessity of the indwelling of God in man, to 
 
3o8 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 liis glory and bliss, is seen in tlie majesty displayed 
 in the great facts of the Incarnation and Ascension to 
 glory of the Son of God. And when the pure soul 
 shall dwell in the glorified body, when the cloudless 
 light of truth shall fill the vast capacities of the 
 human mind, when divine, and only divine, emotions 
 shall fully possess the heart, when God — Father, Son, 
 and Spirit — shall dwell in and fill the redeemed with 
 all the fulness of God, oh what shall be the unspeak- 
 able joy which shall then ravish the heart and delight 
 the human spirit ? "What shall then be the felicity of 
 the perfect eternal indwelling of God ? The joys of a 
 first love are sweet ; sweet the soul's first embrace of 
 truth, and the first awaking consciousness of peace 
 with God. This, however, is but a faint tasting — the 
 infant spirit obtaining but a glimpse of its future 
 manhood, the heir arriving at a feeble conception of 
 his after inheritance. 
 
 Of the full and perfect bliss of the Divine indwell- 
 ing, we can here speak only in the broken accents of 
 infancy. " We see through a glass darkly," but then 
 shall we " see face to face," and " know even as we are 
 known," and the full tide of light, with the full sw^ell 
 of bliss, shall flow into and fill the soul. The eternal 
 realisation of fellowship with God, in the knowledge 
 and enjoyment of the godlike designs of His infinite 
 love, shall all thrill the spirit with purest felicity. 
 Glorious consummation of immortal life and fellow- 
 ship Divine, how great shall be thy bliss and joy ! 
 
( 309 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 UNION OF THE HUMAN WITH THE DIVINE. 
 
 As tlie indwelling of tlie Divine in the human arises 
 out of the reception of the Divine by the human, 
 so the union of the human with the Divine arises 
 out of the indwelling of the Divine in the human. 
 In the contemplation of this all-important and glori- 
 ous theme, extremes, prevalent even at the present 
 day, are to be guarded against. These extremes are 
 the dreams of mysticism on the one hand, and the 
 speculations of rationalism on the other. 
 
 This union of which we speak is not one of a pan- 
 theistic character, i.e., a union of identification of the 
 several departments of nature, in which God is all, 
 and all is God ; a union in which there is no distinc- 
 tion of essence and personality between the Creator 
 and the creature. The union for which we contend 
 in nowise interferes with the personalities, or con- 
 founds the individualities, of the natures united. It 
 is not a union like that of a spark in a flame, or of a 
 drop in the ocean, w^here the one is lost in the other ; 
 but such a union as preserves the Divinity of the one 
 nature unimpaired, and the free agency of the other 
 unfettered. 
 
310 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 Nor, on tlie otlier liand, is this a mere rational 
 union, i.e., a union of Divine and human natures 
 only in views of mind, feeling, and principles of 
 action. If this union of idea and will were the only 
 one possible between the human and Divine, then, 
 however possible in the nature of being itself, it could 
 hardly ever be realised in the actuality of life, inas- 
 much as fallen man is not only devoid of the one 
 essential principle of such a union with God, but is 
 also antagonistic in spirit to a union of will with God. 
 If, therefore, a union of the human and Divine wills 
 is possible only through a union of the human and 
 Divine minds, how is a merely rational union to be 
 attained? Fallen man, as we have seen, hates the 
 lio-ht, and nothing can lead him to welcome the lif(ht. 
 No mere revelation of the truth of God will ever 
 prevail upon the man who dislikes it to receive it, 
 and rejoice in the light of it. A union, therefore, 
 meditated only through the truth itself, from the 
 nature of things, cannot be realised between God and 
 man. 
 
 This rationalistic view of the union between God 
 and man, however scientific the dress in which it is 
 set forth, and with whatsoever philosophic authority 
 it is backed up, is yet most unscientific and unphi- 
 losophic ; for a union with God, through the medium of 
 truth, is possible to the sinner only through means 
 of a prior union of the spirit of man with the Spirit 
 of God. 
 
 Contemplate the world lying under the wicked one, 
 at enmity with God, in opposition to the light of His 
 
UNION OF THE HUMAN WITH DIVINE. 311 
 
 saving holiness, tliough diffused in the purest radiance 
 of the Divine efifulgence, i.e., in Him Avho is the 
 "brightness of the Father's Glory." This radiant 
 effulgence poured on the diseased organ of the sinner's 
 vision, only causes him to nerve his every effort, to 
 exclude it the more effectually from his heart. 
 The softening, melting influence of Heaven's mercy, 
 falling upon the corrupt heart of man, is thus seen 
 only to arouse it to more confirmed rejection of God. 
 
 Ere, then, there can be a union between the sinner 
 and God through means of saving truth, there must 
 be an experience on man's part of quickening grace. 
 The Spirit of God must touch the heart of the sinner 
 with His own immediate power, firing it with love of 
 the Divine ; otherwise, the truth cannot be received 
 in the love of it. It is only when the Spirit works 
 faith in a man, warming his heart with the love of 
 the true as He unveils to him the beauties of sovereiofn 
 grace, that he will yield himself up to God in the 
 reception of " the truth as it is in Jesus," and, receiv- 
 ing the truth in the love of it, he will enjoy fellow- 
 ship with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and 
 enter into the realisation of union with the Father, 
 through the Son, and by the Spirit. 
 
 This union, as we have indicated, is not a blending 
 or confounding of the united personalities or lives ; 
 nor is it an absorbing of the one by the other, so that 
 the one is in any way injured or lost in regard to 
 anything that appertains to it. There is nothing, e.g.., 
 of blending or confounding together of mind and 
 truth in man's grasp of the truth. After a man has 
 
312 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 laid hold of the truth, his mind is as perfect as when 
 he was ignorant of it ; in point of fact, it is more 
 perfect ; nor is the truth grasped in any way injured 
 or changed in its nature through being understood. 
 The body in its union with the soul is in no way 
 injured, blended and confounded with the soul. 
 The body is as material in its union with the soul 
 in life, as were the particles of which it is composed 
 before the body was made. And the soul is, in its 
 essence and all its essentials, the same as it shall be 
 when it parts company with its ^Dresent body. The 
 humanity also of the Incarnate One is as real and 
 perfect in its condition of inseparable union with the 
 Divine, as it is in any of the human race. And, in 
 like manner, the Divinity of the Man Christ Jesus 
 is as perfect now, as it was when in the beginning 
 the " Word was with God, and the Word was God." 
 Similarly the Godhead in the indwelling of the 
 Divine in the spirit of man, is as essentially Divine 
 as was Jehovah, ere the silence of eternity was broken 
 by the obtrusion of created being. And the spirit of 
 man is as really human while enjoying the life of 
 union and communion with God, as when it was 
 "without God in the world." 
 
 This union of nature in no way degrades the higher, 
 but it unspeakably exalts the inferior. Truth, e.g.^ is 
 in no way degraded by its indwelling and influence 
 in the understandinf]^ of man, but throuMi it the 
 mind of man is greatly raised, especially by the 
 apprehension of " the truth as it is in Jesus." The 
 soul of man is in no way degraded by its dwelling in 
 
UNION OF THE HUMAN WITH DIVINE. 313 
 
 tLe body, but the body is bigbly dignified by means 
 of the indwelling of the soul. And, blessed be God, 
 Jehovah is not dishonoured by His dwelling in the 
 Faithful, for it is in His manifestations in connection 
 with this indwelling that He has displayed in purest 
 radiance the glory of His infinite perfections ; but 
 human nature in the redeemed is mightily exalted on 
 account of this indwelling of Father, Son, and Spirit ; 
 they are able in consequence to prove to the world 
 that they are sons and daughters of the Almighty. 
 
 This union of the human and Divine is spiritual 
 and enduring. The Spirit of God unites Himself 
 with the spirit of man, and quickens it by manifest- 
 ing Christ to the heart, and working faith in the 
 obedient. In this way the believer is "renewed 
 in the spirit of his mind," that he "may put on the 
 new man which, after God, is created in righteousness 
 and true holiness," the " deep things of God " are 
 revealed to him, and the work of sanctification is 
 carried forward in his nature. 
 
 Hence the union of the human and Divine is a 
 vital one ; in fact, it is impossible for the Spirit of 
 God, the Author of life, to come into contact thus 
 with the soul and spirit of man, and not produce life, 
 and quicken all the powers and capacities of human 
 nature. This spirit has been sent by the Son to 
 regenerate souls "dead in trespasses and sins," and 
 coming into the spirit of man. He produces and 
 sustains the life of God in it. This is the point of 
 view occupied by the apostle when he says, "If 
 Christ be iu you, the body is dead because of sin, but 
 
314 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 the spirit is life because of righteousness," and in 
 another place, " If the Spirit of Him that raised up 
 Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up 
 Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal 
 Lodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you." 
 
 This union, moreover, is a growing one, ever deve- 
 loping itself in the heart and life of the believer. It 
 is not perfected in its first beginnings ; there is such 
 an infinite capacity in the spirit of man, and there is 
 such an infinitude of grace in God, that the soul can- 
 not be '' filled with all the fulness of God " in its first 
 receptions of "the grace that is in Christ Jesus." 
 There are too many obstacles in man, standing in the 
 way of his reception of the Divine, to be overcome 
 even by the Holy Spirit in His first approaches to the 
 soul. The slaying of the antagonism of the self- 
 righteous sj^irit in man, the quickening of his heart 
 with the life of God, is not all that is needed in order 
 to the salvation of man. The ignorance, error, and 
 prejudice of the believer have to give way before " the 
 truth as it is in Jesus," in the process of sanctification ; 
 and the remains of the corruptions of self-love have 
 to give way before the " spirit of a sound understand- 
 ing " in perfecting the life and godliness which are in 
 Christ Jesus; and thus the union is ever advancing 
 and consolidating in the continual assimilation of the 
 believer to the Spirit of God. The spirit of man is 
 ever enlarging in its capacity through its reception of 
 the Divine, and God is ever unfolding fresh manifesta- 
 tions of Himself to the believer's soul. • 
 
 Finally, this union is an indestructible one. All 
 
UNION OF THE HUMAN WITH DIVINE. 315 
 
 other imions existing on eartli are dissolved sooner or 
 later ; however closely we may cement our earthly 
 unions, however eagerly we may desire to jDcrpetuate 
 them, they must break up and perish one and all. 
 The heir of many lands must soon bid them a lasting- 
 adieu ; the possessor of numerous titles, vast wealth, 
 and earthly glory, must ere long be torn from them 
 all. Crowns must fall from the most disfnified head, 
 and sceptres from the most tenacious grasp \ but this 
 union shall never be impaired, it is in its very nature 
 imperishable, augmenting, and consolidating. It shall 
 survive when all things else decay. It shall spring 
 forth in full and deathless bloom when all other 
 buds of promise shall have withered and fallen to tlie 
 ground. 
 
 Such, then, is this union of God with man, the 
 most glorious and blessed that can be entertained 
 even in the loftiest imaginings of man. Yet in the 
 pursuit of earthly gain and human acquisitions, how 
 greatly is it overlooked and neglected ! Surely folly 
 is ingrained in the heart of the man who strains every 
 nerve to gain what this world can afford, and yet 
 never spends a single earnest thought on the tran- 
 scendantly-giorious prospects which this union opens 
 up before him. But happy, thrice happy, are those 
 who have already entered upon it ; they alone know 
 what true life is here below, life which they shall 
 enjoy in ever-increasing sweetness while the ceaseless 
 ages of eternity revolve. 
 
(3i6) 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE UNION AND UNITY OF BELIEVERS WITH ONE 
 ANOTHER, IN THEIR UNION AND UNITY WITH 
 CHRIST. 
 
 This union consists of a union of co-ordinate lives witli 
 one another, in tlieir subordination to a higher life. 
 It is the union of believers with one another in tlieir 
 union with Christ. This matter may be better under- 
 stood if we look at it in its twofold aspect, viz., the 
 union of believers with Christ, and the union of 
 believers with one another, as arising out of their 
 union with Christ. 
 
 The union of believers is effected through means of 
 the union of humanity with Divinity, in the union of 
 the son of man with the Son of God, in the person of 
 Jesus Christ. This union of the two natures exists in 
 its hiMiest form in the Incarnate One, and as God 
 and man are united in one person in Him, so God 
 and man are united in one life in the believer, and 
 just as in the hypostatical union there is no blending 
 of natures, so in the union with Christ, of which all 
 • believers are partakers, there is no confounding of the 
 lives. 
 
 This union of believers with one another is close 
 
UNION AND UNITY OF BELIE VERS. 3 1 7 
 
 and endearing, and would be found by tbem in tlieir 
 experience to be so, if they would only realise its true 
 nature and godlike privileges. 
 
 As children of God, believers have no union or 
 communion with one another save in and through 
 Christ their head. The emblem of this union is 
 beautifully set before us by Christ Himself in His 
 simile of the vine with its branches. The branches 
 of the vine have no union with one another Imt 
 through their union with the stem. In their union 
 with the stem, however, they form one vine, and the 
 same sap Avith its life-giving energy which rises from 
 the root circulates in them all. 
 
 The limbs of the human body have no vital union 
 and communion with one another save through their 
 imion with the one body ; but in virtue of this union 
 the same blood circulates in them all, and the same 
 life energises them all, and, as a consequence, if one 
 member suffers, the others suffer along with it, but if 
 on the contrary one member rejoices, the others rejoice 
 with it. And thus is it with believers ; they have 
 union and communion with one another throucrh their 
 
 O 
 
 union with Christ. Having received Him they be- 
 come with Him one in spirit, mind, and life. And 
 the one grace of Christ thus flows into them indi- 
 vidually, and constitutes them one with Himself, 
 and unites them all into one body of which He is 
 the Head. 
 
 If a dead branch be allowed to remain on the stem 
 of the vine, it has no vital union with it nor with the 
 other branches. Or if a paralysed limb remains on 
 
3i8 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 the body, it Las no fellowsliip with the other limbs in 
 the health, vigour, and activity of the body. Similarly, 
 if another spirit than the Spirit of Christ dwells in any 
 professed member of Christ, such an one can have no 
 union Avith Him, and must be separated from Christ 
 and His brethren by the whole difference of mind, 
 spirit, and aim which animate him, from the mind, 
 spirit, and aim wdiich animate believers. Is it, then, 
 a matter of wonder that the Church of Christ has 
 been so inconsistent, inefficient, and even dead, when 
 we consider how much the spirit of self has divided 
 the visible organisation and enfeebled its members ? 
 
 The stem, roots, and branches of the vine, however 
 numerous, make but one plant. The parts of the 
 body, however varied, make but one body, and the 
 members of a family, however few or many, near or 
 remote, united or scattered, make only one family. 
 The nature of man, consisting of body, mind, and 
 spirit, form but one man. So, in like manner, the 
 whole company of believers of all ages, of all disposi- 
 tions and peoples and tongues, make but one house- 
 hold of God, one spiritual theocracy. This brother- 
 hood or body of Christ is one in all its essential con- 
 ditions, it is the same humanity that is redeemed in 
 its every member, and every member of this family 
 is redeemed by the same blood, called with the same 
 calling, quickened by the same Spirit, fired by the 
 same love, taken to the same heaven, and brought 
 near to the same Father. 
 
 It is the same humanity that is possessed by every 
 member of the human race ; what is peculiar in the 
 
UNION AND UNITY OF BE HE VERS. 319 
 
 individiial mode of possessing it constitutes tlie indi- 
 vidiuality of tlic person. It is the same truth that 
 dwells in the minds of all believers ; what is peculiar 
 in the individual mode of apprehending it, is what 
 constitutes the specialty of that believer's mind. It 
 is the same love which is shed abroad in the hearts 
 of all God's children ; what is peculiar in the indi- 
 vidual's mode of cherishing it, is what determines 
 the peculiarity of each believer's heart and life. It is 
 the same God that dwells in the redeemed ; what is 
 peculiar in the individual mode of fellowship, is what 
 constitutes the individuality of the life of the believer, 
 and determines the desfree of nearness or distance 
 
 O 
 
 between him and God. 
 
 Out of this union arises the unity of the Church, 
 a unity which binds together into one the several 
 members with Christ the Head. They are all " be- 
 gotten of God," and made "partakers of the Divine 
 nature." As Christ is the incarnation of the Divine, 
 so they are the embodiment of the Divine. " Of His 
 will beo^at He us." "We are members of His flesh, 
 of His body, and of His bones." The Church is His 
 body, " the fulness of Him who filleth all in all." 
 
 This unity includes a great variety of things — a few 
 of which we here enumerate, in order that the subject 
 may be set forth with some little approach to the ful- 
 ness which it deserves. These things, therefore, this 
 unity includes, viz., a oneness of relationship, believers 
 are all born into the family of God, and constitute His 
 household. They are all, therefore, brethren. They 
 have all a oneness of spirit, of mind, of heart, and of 
 
320 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LITE. 
 
 life. They have a oneness of love, of interest, of 
 righteousness, of glory, of joy, and of destination. 
 These privileges, and they might be greatly increased 
 in number, indicate merely lines of thought which 
 might be followed out at length with much profit, 
 rather than constitute a setting forth of the subject. 
 We leave it to the reader to follow out this matter 
 for himself, assuring him that in doing so he will be 
 richly rewarded for his labour. 
 
 The Church of Christ, as before said, is essentially 
 one, consisting of the regenerated of all ages and 
 lands. Her members on earth are separated by time 
 and space, and distinguished by different degrees of 
 attainments in the Divine life, but in Christ Jesus 
 they are all one. In her present state the Church is 
 unhappily divided into sects, in which condition the 
 formal is more apparent than the real, the divisions 
 than the unity, which is her normal state. 
 
 In consequence of her position and compound 
 elements, the Church must realise more or less conflict 
 on earth, opposition from without, and imperfection 
 within. The powers of light and darkness, of truth 
 and error, of the love of God, and love of self, must 
 contend Avitli each other. The light and love of the 
 Divine in the Church must provoke the opposition of 
 the darkness and enmity which are in the world, and 
 contend with them. And the light and love of the 
 Divine, which are in the believer, must provoke the 
 carnal to opposition, and contend with the ignorance 
 and love of self which still remain in him. 
 
 In view, then, of these things, a perfect Church, 
 
UNION- AND UNIT Y OF BELIE VERS. 3 2 1 
 
 however desirable, is not to be looked for on eartli ; 
 this can only be attained to in heaven. And the one 
 grand distinction between the Church militant and 
 the Church triumphant is, that the latter is perfect in 
 light and love, the former is imperfect in both. 
 Hence, however much it is to be regretted and 
 guarded against, there will be found in all the 
 ecclesiastical organisations of the Church of Christ 
 on earth imperfections of a twofold kind, viz., the 
 existence of unregenerate within the pale of the de- 
 nomination, and shortcomings on the part of the 
 regenerate belonging to all the sections of the Church ; 
 and in guarding against the intrusion of the one, and 
 in endeavouring to purge out the evils of the other, 
 the bearers of office in the Church should be careful 
 lest they root out the wheat with the tares. They 
 ought to strive to present to the world not a perfect 
 Church, but a purifying Church. Not members that 
 have already attained, or are already perfect, but 
 brethren pressing "toward the mark for the prize of 
 the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." A Church, 
 in short, which values her spiritual life far more than 
 her rational accjuirement and her formal progress. 
 The spiritual is the first in the order of being and 
 importance, and ought ever to be supremely desired 
 by the children of God; it has, however, been one of the 
 besetting sins of the Church that she has looked rather 
 to her unity in the formal, than in the real and spiritual. 
 In the New Testament, while formal unity is 
 indul)itably enjoined, yet the great stress is laid on 
 spiritual unity, e.g., " If any man have not the Spirit 
 
o 
 
 2 2 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 of Christ lie is none of His," " hereby we know that 
 He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given 
 us." Indeed, the Church can enjoy a similarity of 
 form only in as far as she possesses a oneness of 
 spirit ; formal unity arising from any other source 
 is misleading and mischievous. 
 
 The position, then, assumed is this, viz., that the 
 great essential in the Church is the spiritual — that 
 the Church on earth is not a perfect but a purifying 
 institution. ThrouQ-h conversion, the Church receives 
 out of the world those who are to be made "meet 
 for the inheritance of the saints in light." Perfection, 
 however desirable, is not to be looked for in the 
 members of the Church ; it is that, however, which 
 is placed before us as our standard of duty, and 
 towards which we are enjoined to press with all 
 our mio;ht. 
 
 Viewed in this light, the Church is to be regarded 
 as an hospital, established by Christ, for the cure of 
 souls ; or, it may be regarded as a seminary, designed 
 for the instruction of those who are ignorant in the 
 things of God. The Church, therefore, can only 
 consistently refuse to acknowledge as Christians those 
 whose wounds are incurable. As long as any exhibit 
 signs of spiritual life, however faint, the Church ought 
 not to exclude them from her pale ; and as long as a 
 denomination maintains the essential truths of Chris- 
 tianity, it is not to be anathematised by the others ; 
 nor are they to refuse to hold intercourse with it, 
 unless Christian princi|ile in any case should be 
 imperilled by so doing. 
 
UNION AND UNITY OF BELIEVERS. 323 
 
 If the sections into wbicli tlie Churcli of Christ is 
 divided are not prepared to look upon one another as 
 essentially corrupt, however much they may differ 
 and bewail the corruptions of one another, they are 
 hound to recognise one another as sections of the one 
 great family of God in Christ, and to " seek the 
 things which make for peace." They should feel it 
 to be their duty to work together, and to pray that, 
 in due time, God may lead them to see in the same 
 light the things on which they differ at the present 
 moment. 
 
 If the sects were deeply impressed with the con- 
 viction, that perfection was in the agencies, influences, 
 &c., given to the Church, and not to be sought for 
 in the minor points about which they differ, and over 
 which they are so ready to wrangle and fight that 
 one would almost suppose salvation depended on 
 them ; were they to realise the fact that it is their 
 duty to hold lightly minor points of difference, in 
 comparison with the grasp with wdiich they lay hold 
 upon the great essentials in regard to which they are 
 all at one ; then would there be less difficulty in the 
 way of eventually effecting even an incorporate unity, 
 which in present circumstances must be pronounced 
 an impossibility. 
 
 The continuance of divisions in the Church is a 
 standing memorial of the inattention of His disciples 
 to the object of Christ's prayer. And the divisions 
 themselves are a striking proof to the world that His 
 disciples are not so affectionate to one another, and 
 so devoted to Him as He desires they should be. 
 
324 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 Were the Clnireh in all its sections earnestly to co- 
 operate with Him tliat His prayer might be answered, 
 we would no doubt soon see the realisation of the 
 thing prayed for. 
 
 The denomination tliat refuses to co-operate with 
 other denominations, in so far as it is one with them, 
 proves itself schismatic, inasmuch as it manifests a 
 greater love for the accidental than for the essential ; 
 and unless it is prepared to say that the things on 
 which it differs from the other denominations are of 
 more importance to Christianity than the things on 
 which it is at one with them, it must be chargeable 
 with showinsf more love for the less than it shows 
 for the greater. It sets itself in opposition to the 
 Saviour in His prayer for unity, in thus giving chief 
 prominence to the very grounds of the difference 
 which divides it from other sections of the Church ; 
 and in doing so it also shows a greater regard for 
 what is accidental than for that which is essential 
 in the Divine life. 
 
 Are we, then, to be understood as pleading for a 
 rash and inconsiderate laying aside of all our minor 
 differences, and rushing into a formal oneness ; this 
 would be to conceive of our advocating the very thing 
 here protested against, viz., the placing of the formal 
 before the spiritual, the less before the greater, and 
 the accidental before the essential. What we wish, 
 is to turn the attention of the denominations to the 
 fact that they arc one on the great essentials of 
 Christianity, and that this aspect of the case 
 should ever be vividly realised by them and set in 
 
UNION AND UNITY OF BELIEVERS. 325 
 
 tlie foreground. Our oneness ought to occupy a 
 deeper place in our hearts, and in our views of 
 Divine truth, than the points on which we are 
 divided. And we ought ever to be impressed with 
 the fact, that by so doing, w^e shall far more efficiently 
 jiromote the glory of God, the honour of the Church, 
 and the conversion of the world than is now possible. 
 Let us, therefore, drink more into " the one spirit," 
 and have more of the mind of Christ ; let us cherish, 
 more ardently than we do, love for the great essentials 
 of spiritual life ; and in thus drawing near to the 
 great centre of attraction, we will draw near to one 
 another, our minor differences will fall into their 
 proper place, and perchance, finally, be lost sight of 
 in the oneness of light, and loveliness of the Divine 
 brotherhood. 
 
 Thou Eternal Spirit of the One Jehovah, breathe 
 upon us, quicken us, and come down upon us in all 
 the plenitude of Thine own grace, fill us with Thine 
 own fulness and life, and make us one Church, the 
 honoured instrument of accomplishing Thine own 
 glorious work ! 
 
( 326 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 EXALTATION OF THE HUMAN IN THE SONS HIP OF 
 
 BELIE VERS. 
 
 In the reception of Christ believers are " raised up 
 and made to sit together with Him in heavenly 
 places." In this recej)tion they are necessarily raised 
 into the realm of the spiritual, and enabled to repose 
 in the calm fellowship of Heaven itself In the 
 measure in which believers receive Christ they rise 
 in the consciousness of the Divine, and live in the 
 visions of the unseen. "As many as received Him, 
 to them gave He power to become the Sons of God, 
 even to them that believe in His name." In the 
 reception of Christ believers necessarily receive the 
 power to realise the Sonship. In the very act 
 of receiving Him they become possessors of the 
 germ of the Divine life in their souls, and set out 
 on an upward progress toward perfection whicli 
 is limited only by the perfection of the Eternal 
 Himself. 
 
 God in giving the germ of a reality necessarily 
 gives the right, title, aud privileges of that reality. 
 In giving to a creature the germ of sentient life, He 
 gives that creature the right, title, and privilege 
 to him to enjoy a sentient life ; in giving to humanity 
 
SONSHIF OF BELIE VERS. 3 2 7 
 
 tlie germ of rational life, He gives to tlie possession 
 of humanity the right, title, and privilege of living a 
 rational life ; and in giving to the believer the germ 
 of the Divine life in His Son, He gives him the 
 right, title, and privilege of living that life up to 
 the full measure of his capacity, means, and oppor- 
 tunities of living that life. Hence, the believer, 
 through believing in Christ, receives the power of 
 the Sonship, and in the consciousness of this life 
 realises the Sonship ; in the reception of Christ the 
 believer receives the right of the Sonship, and in the 
 measure of his life in Christ is he conscious of the 
 satisfaction of the righteousness of Sonship. But 
 who can adequately conceive of the power of 
 the reception of Christ ? What is there in being, 
 life, and destiny, that Christ has not the title to 
 a right over ? What is there among the possibilities 
 of honour, glory, and bliss, that He has not the 
 ability for ? And what is there amid these possibilities 
 that the Father will not give with Him ? " He that 
 spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up 
 for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely 
 give us all things ? " 
 
 And who will dispute the believer's right and title 
 to the benefits of the Sonship, to the consciousness 
 and delights of the filial, to the glorious and blissful 
 realisations of the oneness of the subjective human 
 with the subjective Divine ? This cannot be dis- 
 puted ; for, in the measure of the believer's conscious 
 life in Christ, he realises the possession of that 
 life. The believer's Father in heaven who glories 
 
o 
 
 2 8 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 ill His Son and in all wlio bear His image, who lias 
 clone so mucli to jDroduce the filial heart in the 
 believer, He certainly will not dispute the believer's 
 right and title. Were He to deny this right and 
 title, then would He have to repudiate His own Son, 
 nay, His Son's work in the believer, and all the 
 manifestations He has given of Himself in His 
 Son. And will the Father do this ? Can we believe 
 it possible that He could do any such thing ? Will 
 the Son deny, or refuse to acknowledge, the Sonship 
 of the believers ? — the Son who deliejhts in His brethren, 
 who exults in the work He has accomplished in and 
 for them, who glories in their fellowship with His 
 Father, with Himself, and with the S23irit — then 
 would He require to deny Himself, to discard His 
 Sonship, to repudiate His work, and thus tarnish 
 His glory and mar His own bliss. And is this 
 the object for which He sits at His Father's right 
 hand, for which He received the gift of all power 
 in heaven and earth, and for the completion of which 
 He is to come again at the end of the world in the 
 glory of His Father and His holy angels ? Or will 
 the Holy Spirit deny the Sonship of the believer in 
 Christ, and refuse to acknowledge his right and title 
 to the privileges of the Sonship ? — the Spirit who pro- 
 duces in the believer all that is j)eculiar to the Son- 
 ship, the Spirit Avho rejoices in perfecting in the 
 believer the Sonship, and who is yet to present him 
 faultless in the presence of God's glory with exceeding 
 joy — will He deny the Sonship of believers then ? 
 Must He discard His own doings, repudiate the 
 
SONSHIP OF BELIEVERS. 329 
 
 very work He lias acliieved in tlie face of so much 
 resistance and so much grief ? Will He reject His 
 own doings, den}^ Himself, resist, grieve, and quench 
 in His turn the very Divine emotions He Himself 
 has produced in the hearts of the believers? Is it 
 possible for us to conceive that the Spirit will do 
 any such thing ? 
 
 Will the heavenly hosts, the sager students of 
 God's redemptive work, the principalities and powers 
 in heavenly places, to whom God displays His 
 manifold wisdom by His doings in the Church, 
 and who not only with earnest expectation wait 
 for the manifestation of the Sons of God, but even 
 delight in aiding the believer in his working out 
 what the Spirit works in him to will and to do of 
 God's good pleasure — will they who thus minister 
 to the heirs of salvation refuse to acknowledge the 
 Sonship of believers ? Impossible ! for then would 
 these holy ones be guilty of rebellion against God, 
 treason towards the sovereign Lord of the universe, 
 and, consequently, traitors to their own best interests. 
 Or will the believer himself, who rejoices in God 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ, and who delights 
 in having Christ in him the hope of glory, will he 
 deny his own Sonship ? If he does, then must he 
 fail to recognise his own consciousness, and mis- 
 understand the movements of the Divine in the 
 realisations of his own inner life. And this, un- 
 fortunately, he frequently does in consequence of 
 his present imperfect condition, and the co-minglings 
 of the Divine and self in his inner life, the conflicts 
 
330 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 between the new and tlie old man ; lie not unfre- 
 quently mistakes the deeds of the one for the doings 
 of the other, the fiery darts of Satan for the risings 
 of the renewed heart, and often walks in gloom and 
 dejection when he ought to he rejoicing in the 
 visions of the unseen, in the blissful realisations of 
 the risen life. 
 
 But this warfare between the powers of light and 
 darkness, and consequent confusion of mind in the 
 Ijeliever, will not always last, or be his experience for 
 ever. 
 
 The world and the devil may deny the Sonship of 
 the believer, and strive to retard his progress in the 
 Divine life ; this, however, is only what the believer is 
 to expect, for he is warned to that effect, and for his 
 encouragement he is told that greater is He that is 
 for him tlian all they that are against him, and that 
 all this opposition will be overruled for his highest 
 good, " for all things work together for good to 
 them that love God, the called according to His pur- 
 pose ;" "at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, 
 of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things 
 under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that 
 Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." 
 And in this acknowledgment of the Son, there will 
 and must be the recognition of the Sonship of His 
 brethren. 
 
 The Church of the first-born in heaven ; the general 
 assembly of the just made perfect, the great cloud of 
 witnesses, the gathering together of all that is in 
 the heavens above, and in the earth beneath, and 
 
SONSHIP OF BELIEVERS. 331 
 
 under tlie earth, will these deny the Sonship of 
 believers in Christ, or refuse to acknowledge the 
 manifestation of any of the Sons of God ? Surely 
 not ; they sympathise with them in their groanings, 
 and aid them in their travailing in pain; they 
 anxiously wait for the full display of the mystery, 
 kept secret from the foundation of the w^orld, to 
 be given to all intelligences, and anticipate with 
 joy the period when they shall behold the perfected 
 Sonship of believers in the manifestation of the Sons 
 of God. 
 
 But how can the Sonship of the believer in Christ 
 be denied ? Will it be disputed that the love, spirit, 
 mind, and life of Christ are the true and unfailing 
 elements of the Sonship ; or will it be maintained that 
 he who, by faith, has received Christ, and has Him 
 in him the hope of glory, and who in the possession 
 of Christ possesses these elements of the Sonship, 
 has not the right and title to the Sonship ? There is 
 no denying of the Sonship in the consciousness of the 
 Divine, in the consecration of all that is in the Father, 
 Son, and Spirit ; of all that is in the principalities 
 and powers in heavenly places for the full develop- 
 ment of the Sonship, for the bringing out into highest 
 manifestation the glorious and blissful realisations of 
 the Sonship. 
 
 What, then, is this Sonship of believers, this Sonship 
 of which they only now receive the foretaste in its 
 right, title, and privilege, by believing in Christ. 
 What can it be but the oneness of love, spirit, mind, 
 life, righteousness, glory, and joy with God's own 
 
332 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 Son, tlie ajDpearing witli Him in glory, tlie reiguiu^^^ 
 with Him in light, the realising with Him the con- 
 sciousness of the Divine, the having the subjective 
 human in a oneness with the subjective Divine. 
 And what higher Sonship can the believer desire ? 
 What more illustrious condition of existence can he 
 aspire to ? To what nobler state of conscious being will 
 he ever hope to ascend ? What purer, more satisfying 
 bliss is it possible for him to realise than the clear, 
 deep, and uninterrupted consciousness of a oneness of 
 love, spirit, mind, life, righteousness, glory, and joy 
 with God's own Son in the completed manifestation 
 of the Divine, the fullest disclosures of the subjective 
 in God ? 
 
 Is there in the possibilities of renewed humanity, 
 capacity, and receptivity, for the full and complete 
 indwelling of the Divine, is there in the renewed 
 nature of man a susceptibility of his entering into a 
 oneness with the Infinite and Eternal in the deep 
 things of God ? There is in the designs of Godhead 
 a purpose of arraying the deathless spirit of humanity 
 wdth the meekness and gentleness of Christ, of 
 adorning the life of man with the dispositions, 
 motives, and principles of the Incarnate One. The 
 spirit of humanity can be made to glow with the 
 same love which has fired the bosom of God Himself. 
 There is in man's rational nature the jDossibility of his 
 receiving the very ideas which have occupied the 
 Infinite Mind itself; there is in the illimitable com- 
 pass of the human soul a possibility of its being 
 quickened with the very life of Him who is the 
 
SONSHIP OF BELIEVERS. 333 
 
 Living One who liatli life in Himself, who only hath 
 life and immortality ; there is within the vast and 
 interminable range of man's immortal spirit, the 
 possibility of his being brought into such righted or 
 readjusted relations as that his righteousness shall 
 be one with that of the Son of God. There is the 
 possibility of the regenerated life shining in the 
 glory of Him who is the brightness of His Father's 
 glory, in the splendour of Him whose effulgence 
 dazzles created vision and lights up the corruscations 
 of suns and systems. There is in the once agonised 
 spirit in the sorrowing heart of the believer the 
 possibility of His being gladdened with the joys 
 of Him who has in Himself the well-springs of 
 infinite and eternal bliss. And there is a desire 
 cherished in the Father-heart, to animate the 
 redeemed spirit with the consciousness of the Divine 
 nature, the perfect life, the inexhaustible bliss of the 
 subjective Divine. In the mysterious union with 
 the Son, the believino- soul can become one with Him 
 in His conscious possession of all the fulness of 
 God. 
 
 Here our philosophy and our faith diverge, and 
 appear to be in contradiction, but this contradiction 
 is only seeming ; the explanation is, that faith rises 
 into regions into which philosophy cannot ascend ; 
 love can comprehend what intellect cannot conceive 
 of, ascending in the flight of fancy even within the 
 sphere of reason. I can mount to illimitable heights, 
 I can set no bounds to my onward progress in the 
 future, I can conceive of no terminus to my advance 
 
334 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 iu knowledge, to tlie development of my faculties, to 
 tlie enlargement of my powers, to my reception of 
 tlie Divine, to my assimilation to God. Neither 
 reason nor pliilosopliy can tell me how I may be 
 filled with all the fulness of God, but faith assures 
 me that in the Incarnation of the Son of God, the 
 very Divine, the very Infinite, the very Eternal God 
 is united with the very human in a oneness of per- 
 sonality, dwells in the very human in a oneness 
 of life, and fills the very human with itself. In 
 this fact — a fact indisputable to the believer — faith 
 announces to me an infinite capacity in the human 
 for the indwelling of the Divine, a boundless recep- 
 tivity for the reception of the Infinite. Eevelation 
 declares to me that in Christ dwells the fulness of 
 the Godhead bodily ; revelation also assures me that 
 the Spirit of God takes up His abode in man ; and 
 Christ Himself told His disciples that He and the 
 Father will come and manifest Themselves in them 
 that love Him. 
 
 Before these disclosures of revelation my mind falls 
 in deepest prostration, and exclaims with the great 
 apostle of the Gentiles : " the depth of the riches 
 both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! How 
 unsearchable are His designs, and His w^ays past 
 findino- out ! For who hath known the mind of the 
 Lord ? or who hath been His counsellor ? Or who hath 
 first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed to 
 him again ? For of Him, and through Him, and to 
 Him, are all thiugs : to whom be glory for ever and 
 ever. Amen." 
 
SONSHIF OF BELIE VERS. 3 3 5 
 
 One torch communicates to anotlier tlie same 
 flame that burns in itself, and the very same idea 
 dwells in the mind that receives it as dwells in the 
 mind that imparts it ; the parent begets the very 
 same nature and life in the child that he possesses 
 in himself. A believer in Christ can hardly be so 
 sceptical as to reject the teachings of revelation 
 because of the mysteries that are in them, or refuse 
 to acknowledge the fact that there are mysteries in the 
 Scripture ; and no true believer can be so vain as to 
 imagine that he can, in the brief period of his present 
 state, comprehend the deeper depths of the things of 
 God. Glory be to God because of the mysteries of 
 His Word, and for the unfathomable depths of His 
 redemption ! The keenest analysis cannot detect the 
 full life of the oak in the acorn ; still it is there. 
 Who, therefore, in opposition to the express testi- 
 mony of Scripture, can maintain that believers cannot 
 be made partakers of the " Divine Nature," or imagine 
 that they can realise the fulness of the Divine life in 
 the first quickenings of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Well may it be said of the " Sons of God," that it 
 doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know 
 that w^hen He appears we shall be like Him, for "we 
 shall see Him as He is." And well may the believer 
 exclaim, " Eye hath not seen nor ear heard ; neither 
 can it enter into the heart of man to conceive the 
 things that are laid up for them that love Him." For 
 the believer has not yet already attained, neither is 
 he already perfect, but he has the germ, the fore- 
 taste, the seal, the promise, and it is " the Father's 
 
356 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 good pleasure " to give liim tlic kiDgdom ; it is the 
 determination of God that all His children shall be 
 one in the fulness of their heavenly inheritance. 
 
 The time is approaching, all things are preparing, 
 creation from her inner depths is heaving her inmost 
 sigh of expectation, -all nature is travailing in pain, 
 ton-ether waitino^ for " the manifestation of the Sons 
 of God." When Christ, the Infinite God, shall appear 
 in the bright effulgence of His uncreated light, in the 
 full splendour of His infinite majesty, then shall His 
 brethren also appear with Him in glory, and they 
 shall be like Him, for they shall see Him as He is ; 
 and then shall be exhibited a scene for which time 
 might well prepare, for which also eternity might 
 wait, and for which angels might hope and saints 
 tarry, for which the Spirit of God Himself might 
 make ready, and the Eedeemer travail in the great- 
 ness of His strength, mighty to save ; for then the 
 deep mysteries of God will be clearly disclosed, and 
 the unsearchable depths of sovereign grace fully 
 displayed. 
 
 Now the Church is militant, then shall she be 
 triumphant; now and here her salvation is but 
 begun, then and there it will be complete ; now on 
 earth we have to hold fast the beginning of our con- 
 fidence, then in heaven we shall receive the fulness 
 of our inheritance ; below, we see " but through a 
 glass darkly ;" above, "ftice to face; " on earth, we know 
 but " in part ; " in heaven, " we shall know " even as 
 we are " known." In all this the disciple is as His 
 Lord. Plere He appeared as a humble, dying man ; 
 
SONSHIP OF BELIEVERS. 337 
 
 tliere He sliall be seen as tlie "great God" iu 
 glorious majesty ; and wlien He shall appear in His 
 glory, then sliall the Sons of God be manifested with 
 Him. 
 
 The revelation of the perfected project of the 
 Infinite Mind shall then be displayed, and the con- 
 ception of the Eternal Council which was devised 
 before worlds began, made known. And then shall 
 this redemption song of Jubilee be chanted with 
 joyous hearts. And they sung as it were a new 
 song, the song of Moses the servant of God, and the 
 song of the Lamb, saying : " Great and marvellous 
 are Thy w^orks. Lord God Almighty; just and true 
 are Thy ways. Thou King of Saints. Thou art 
 worthy to take the book and to open the seals 
 thereof, for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us 
 to God by Thy blood, out of every kindred, and 
 tongue, and people, and nation, and hast made us 
 unto our God kings and priests. AVe give Thee 
 thanks, Lord God Alm'ighty, which art, and wast, 
 and art to come, because Thou hast taken Thee 
 Thy great power, and hast reigned. Even so, come. 
 Lord God Almighty. Hallelujah, for the Lord God 
 Omnipotent reigneth 1 " 
 
33S) 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 PERFECTION. 
 
 The Saints of God have ever devoutly longed for 
 perfection; and yet tlie most advanced among tliem 
 are sadly conscious that they have not attained to it, 
 that, on the contrary, they are very far from reaching 
 it. Christ Jesus alone presents to us the model 
 perfection of the Sonship, or pattern of Divine life in 
 man. In Him alone we have a perfect example ; and 
 it is only in our endeavours perfectly to copy this 
 example that we make any approach to the perfection 
 for which we lon^\ and which we see embodied in 
 Him. 
 
 The perfection of Christ Himself consists in the 
 reality of the incarnation, the fulness of the Divine 
 indwelling, and the correspondence of His life, and 
 being with the subjective and objective of His Father. 
 And the perfection of His people can only be realised 
 in their experience through their oneness with Him 
 in spirit and life. 
 
 The Scripture doctrine on this point is clear and 
 explicit. The Father and Son are indifferently set 
 before believers as the goal towards Avhich they 
 arc to press, and they are warned against being 
 
PERFECTION. 339 
 
 content with any lesser attainment. As for examj^le, 
 when Christ Himself says, "Be ye perfect even as 
 your Father in heaven is perfect." And the apostle, 
 after referring to Christ as a pattern, sj)eaks of Him 
 as being holy, harmless, and undefiled ; and to the 
 same purpose Paul exhorts believers to be followers 
 of Christ as dear children. To the mind of the sacred 
 penmen Christ Jesus is the perfection of all excel- 
 lence, and in setting Him before us for our imita- 
 tion, they show as clearly as it is in the ^^ower of 
 language to do, that it is in following Him our 
 chiefest excellence is to be realised. 
 
 The Father perfects humanity through coming 
 into it in His Son. The Son perfects, glorifies, and 
 blesses humanity in proportion as He is received 
 by it ; and for this He recjuires entire conformity to 
 Himself. Were He to demand anything short of this. 
 He would sim^Dly sanction defect in the disciple and 
 do dishonour to Himself. The world spurns with 
 contempt the demand of unqualified reception and 
 complete conformity to the Son of God, and were it 
 left to itself with all the grace of God in its view, it 
 would not be benefited by His salvation. But the 
 Spirit comes Avith the things that are Christ's, 
 quickens the sinner, and prevails with him to yield 
 himself up to God in the embrace of His Son. And 
 as the sinner submits to God, he is " raised u^d into 
 newness of life," and in proportion as he receives the 
 spirit and mind of Christ is he perfect with Him in 
 the Spiritual and Divine. 
 
 In yielding u^d to the strivings of the Spirit there 
 
340 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 must be no halting between two opinions. In the 
 fellowship of life with Christ there must be no dallying 
 with temptation, no tampering with conscience, no con- 
 formity to the world. If there be not this unquali- 
 fied reception of Christ, and entire surrender to Him, 
 there cannot be perfection in the fellowship of Divine 
 life. The believer realises perfection only as and in the 
 degree in which he works out what the Spirit works 
 in him, to will and to do of God's good pleasure. 
 
 In order, however, to this unqualified reception of 
 Christ and complete conformity to Him, there must 
 be supreme love felt for Him ; He must be the 
 greatest of all in the heart, the understanding, and 
 the life. AVhen Christ is thus embraced, the inner 
 life is calm, consistent, and blissful, whatever may be 
 the state of the outer. It was thus that Paul appre- 
 hended Christ, and herein lies the secret of his sublime 
 Christian career. When arrested in his mad attempt 
 to stifle the infant cause of Christianity, the apostle 
 saw the glory of God and felt the power of His grace 
 to such an extent as thoroughly to convince him of 
 the supreme excellence of the person and work of 
 Christ ; from henceforth ardent love for the Eisen 
 Saviour sprung up within him ; and through the 
 crace thus shown to him, he became one of the 
 pillars of the cause which he formerly sought to 
 destroy. And he is to this day renowned as one of 
 the greatest champions of Christianity. 
 
 Supreme love to Christ is, indeed, the one principle 
 of Christian life, and until this is realised in the 
 experience of the Church and the individual believer, 
 
PERFECTION. 341 
 
 tliere can be no perfection. Wheresoever there is 
 felt any love superior to the love borne to Christ, 
 there is an obstacle to the reception of Him. 
 
 This demand of Christ, however, of complete sur- 
 render to Himself, is not only necessary, it is also 
 the wisest requirement which He could have made. 
 It is not on His own account that the demand is 
 made, but for the sake of His people. He asks of 
 them the surrender of their entire life, that He may 
 return it to them j)urer, loftier, and sweeter than 
 when it is yielded up to Him. His own words are : 
 "Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath 
 left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, 
 or wife, or children, or lands, for My sake and the 
 Gospel's, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in 
 this time houses, and brethren, and sisters, and 
 mother, and children, and lands, with persecutions ; 
 and in the world to come, eternal life." 
 
 Whatever affection of our own rivals the love of 
 Christ; whatever temper of our own restrains His 
 S23irit ; whatever notions of our own mingle with 
 " the truth as it is in Jesus ; " whatever motives of 
 our own enter into the life ; whatever joy is sought 
 not in Christ ; whatever relation is sustained uncon- 
 secrated in Him : these all tend to destroy fellowship 
 with the Divine, they indicate imperfection in the 
 life of the believer, and are defects in his faith. 
 There must be, as has already been indicated, no 
 holding back, but a complete self-surrender. The 
 Holy Ghost must fill and consecrate every part of 
 a believer's life, for whatever is assimilated in the 
 
342 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 inner life tliat is not of tlie Spirit of Christ, mars its 
 beauty and hinders its j'^erfection. 
 
 How glorious, then, is the perfection that awaits the 
 believer ; how godlike his destination, and where are 
 the fancied incarnations, apotheosis or pantheistic 
 conceptions (granting for a moment their reality), 
 that can compare in grandeur and importance with 
 this perfection of the human in the Divine. And yet 
 this is the glorious consummation of humanity in the 
 family of the Redeemed. With a view to this lofty 
 exaltation, humanity was created in the image of God, 
 gifted with its vast capacities, and favoured with its 
 Divine susceptibilities ; for this high perfection it has 
 been preserved during the long career of its rebellious 
 opposition to God ; and to realise this wondrous 
 indwelling, the Creator of all worlds condescended 
 to become incarnate, lived among men on earth and 
 died the accursed death of the cross, and ascended to 
 the right hand of majesty on high ; and for the 
 perfect consummation of this indwelling God enters 
 into the life, and thus the perfection of the being of 
 man is secured. 
 
 The indwelling, however, which thus secures the 
 perfection of humanity does not dim the glory of the 
 Infinite Indweller, it only affords the fit opportunity 
 to Jehovah to display the purest radiance of Divine 
 perfection to created intelligence, and it furnishes at 
 the same time the richest manifestation of eternal 
 sovereicrn m-ace. 
 
 O O 
 
 For this indwellincj creation beiran in the remote 
 epochs of eternity past, for this perfection providence 
 
PERFECTION. 
 
 343 
 
 lias evolved itself in the flight of ages, and for this 
 consummation redem^Dtion has displayed its surpassing 
 wonders. Let faith, then, in rapid flight, wing her way 
 back to the moment when first eternity recognised the 
 beginning of time, let her dwell in meditation on the 
 evolution of matter from its primeval chaos to its 
 bright and shining orbs, let her listen to the Almighty's 
 fiat, commanding light to spring out of darkness ; let 
 her view the Spirit brooding over chaos and putting 
 forth His forming skill, till paradise is beheld in all 
 the loveliness of its new-born charms, with its tenant 
 man, the crown and glory of creation ; and what is 
 the wondrous majesty displayed to her view, but the 
 fit residence, the glorious temple of Divine majesty ? 
 And from this vision let faith descend the stream of 
 time in the contemplation of the designs of infinite 
 wisdom, as manifested in the difl'erent dispensations 
 of God's providence, till arrested by the mysterious 
 Incarnation in the fulness of the times. And what 
 does she behold, but the brightest possible manifesta- 
 tion of God dwelling in man ! Let her, then, look at 
 the sublime life of " God manifest in the flesh," and 
 gaze with reverence and awe on the dark scenes of 
 Gethsemane and Calvary, and then let her ascend in 
 wrapt contemplation of the glorious ascension on high, 
 and let her behold humanity in union with Divinity 
 array itself in the splendour of never-fading light, 
 lifting up the sceptre of universal dominion, and seat- 
 ing Himself at the right hand of Power, amid the 
 acclamations of the hosts of heaven ; then let her 
 return to earth with the descending Spirit at Pentecost 
 
344 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 and witness His entrance into the eleven, filling them 
 with grace and power ; and. through their preaching 
 of the everlasting Gospel, striving with sinners, con- 
 verting them into saints and making them temples 
 of God. Finally, let faith anticipate the end of the 
 age, and fly with the speed of thought over the ages 
 of millennial bliss, till arrested by the trump of the 
 Archangel, she beholds the flame of the universal 
 conflagration, the destruction of the sinful earth, the 
 rolling together the scroll of the heavens, polluted by 
 their gaze on a sinful world ; let her witness the 
 rising of the resurrection body in likeness to the glori- 
 ous body of the Son of God; let her anticipate the events 
 of the judgment of the world, and see the " house of 
 many mansions," the final and complete display of the 
 Divine to created vision in " the manifestation of the 
 Sons of God," the presentation of the redeemed "in 
 the presence of God's glory with exceeding joy; and 
 what will faith, in giving place to sight, see but the 
 glory of the redeemed " made perfect in One," the 
 unity of the general assembly and Church of the 
 firstborn, the oneness of the family of God in Christ, 
 the completed indwelling of God in man. 
 
 Then, and then only, shall be known the meaning 
 of that profound and mysterious utterance, "I in 
 them, and Thou in Me, that they may be j)erfect in 
 One." 
 
 How mysterious a being is man ! how momentous 
 the interest of the soul, and how awful the guilt of 
 degrading human nature, and neglecting the privileges 
 conferred on us by God ; and how inconceivable the 
 
PERFECTION. 345 
 
 infatuation of rejecting Christ ! Eeader, beware ! The 
 tiny threads of the spider's web twined around the 
 bud withstands nature's power to free it ; thus im- 
 prisoned there is neither blossom nor fruit. In like 
 manner, simple neglect of the Gospel will for ever ruin 
 the soul ! 
 
( 346 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XXIIL 
 
 DUTY AND RATIONALE OF PRAYER. 
 
 As already indicated, the main condition under wliicli 
 man is quickened Avith the Divine life is the yielding 
 up of himself to the Spirit of God working faith in 
 him. And haviug attained to this, the condition of 
 his after progress in the Divine life, is his praying 
 "always with all prayer and supplication in the 
 Spirit." Our Lord says, "If ye abide in Me, and My 
 words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it 
 shall be done unto you." 
 
 Prayer is the hunger of \X\q soul after God, a crav- 
 ing brought about by the Holy Spirit. It is the 
 coming in desire to God. The opening up of the 
 capacities of the soul for the reception of the gracious 
 communication of the Divine. It is the comino; to 
 God the Father through the Son and by the Spirit 
 in the fellowship of the manifestations which He has 
 given of Himself. It is the askins: for the i^race 
 necessary to this assimilation in the assurance that if 
 we ask we shall receive ; hence the earnestness w^itli 
 which Christ enjoins the duty of prayer on His 
 disciples, " I say unto you. Ask, and it shall be given 
 
DUTY AND RATIONALE OF PRAYER. 347 
 
 you ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be 
 opened unto you : for every one that asketli receiveth, 
 and he that seeketh findeth, and to him tlicit knocketh 
 it shall be opened ;" hence, also, the powerful argument 
 with which He enforces the duty, " If a son ask bread 
 of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? 
 or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent ? 
 or if he ask an ^gg, will he offer him a scorpion ? If 
 ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts 
 unto youj* children, how much more shall your 
 Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that 
 ask Him." 
 
 Absolute independence belongs to the Infinite God 
 alone. All creatures are dependent directly or in- 
 directly on God. " In Him we live, move, and have 
 our being," and the more complex the nature, the 
 more clearly can we trace its dependence. The ani- 
 niate needs more than the inanimate, rational life 
 more than mere animal existence, and spiritual lacing 
 needs most of all. Hence man stands in need of aid 
 in every department of his tripart nature, but needs 
 most for his spiritual life, as being the nearest approach 
 of the finite life to the Infinite. Other lives may be 
 maintained by God indirectly, for anything we know 
 to the contrary, Imt spiritual life must be upheld by 
 Him directly, for spiritual life is that which constitutes 
 its possessor, the proper subject of union and com- 
 munion with God, and it is that through which God 
 communicates Himself to, and holds fellowship with, 
 His offspring. 
 
 The immutabilitv of the Creator is the sjround of 
 
348 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 the creature's entire confidence in Him. Were the 
 Ahnighty capricious or changeable, He could not be 
 the proper object of confidence to His creatures. This 
 immutabilit}^ consists in the unchangeableness of His 
 nature, purposes, and principles of combination, but 
 not in the unchangeableness of His manifestations, 
 modes of operation, or forms of combination. If there 
 were no diversity in the manifestations of the Divine, 
 and the operations of the Godhead, there would be no 
 sphere for the display of Infinite Avisdom ; and if there 
 were no unity in the principle of Divine action, there 
 could be no ground for the exercise of trust in God, 
 on the part of the creature. 
 
 Every species of life is sustained by its own proper 
 kind of nourishment, and is never sustained or 
 preserved in a state of health by anything else. 
 Animal life is sustained by material food, rational life 
 by an intellectual diet, and spiritual life by "the 
 bread of life " which came down from above. Animal 
 life cannot be sustained on intellectual food, rational 
 life cannot be sustained by animal food, nor spiritual 
 life by rational food ; each in order to health and 
 vigour must have its own proper mother aliment. 
 
 In the fertility of the soil, God has furnished man 
 with the means of procuring for himself an abundance 
 of food for his bodily life ; in the facts and operations of 
 nature there is an inexhaustible store of food for the 
 rational life of man ; and in God Himself, as brought 
 near to us in His grace, there is supplied to us a 
 boundless store of provision for the soul. To obtain 
 a proper supply of food for the sustenance of his 
 
D UTY AND RA TIONALE OF PR A YER. 3 49 
 
 body, man must cultivate the soil ; to obtain a supply 
 of food for the suj)port of his rational life, he must 
 acquaint himself with the principles of truth as set 
 before him in the works and AVord of God ; and to 
 obtain a proper supply of food for the life of God in 
 the soul, he must wait on God in the contemplation of' 
 His grace, "praying always, with all prayer and 
 supplication in the spirit." In these several depart- 
 ments we must diligently use the appointed means, 
 or go without the requisite suj)ply of nourishment, 
 and in consequence languish and ultimately perish 
 from starvation. Others may obtain food for us, 
 but they cannot eat for us our portion of it ; this we 
 must do for ourselves. Others may collect informa- 
 tion for us, but it must be comprehended by ourselves. 
 Others may by supplication and prayer obtain for us 
 the blessing of God, but they cannot appropriate for 
 us our portion of " the Bread of Life." 
 
 ]\Ian is taught by nature, revelation, and experience 
 to pray. If he understands the constitution of his being, 
 he will not only perceive that prayer is in perfect accor- 
 dance with that constitution, and the condition of the 
 Divine life in his soul, but he will also find that in 
 certain circumstances he cannot but pray. In these 
 circumstances, in which nature utters her own voice, 
 he will learn from his own experience that he cannot 
 but pray. Let a man by any sudden emergency be 
 thrown into a danwr that threatens to ensrulf him 
 in ruin, and whether he be atheist, infidel, or Christian, 
 he will feel impelled by the instincts of his nature to 
 
35 o THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 pray ; liis soul, constrained by her inner convictions, 
 will irresistibly rise in supplication to God. 
 
 Man is also taught by revelation, Christ by His 
 example teaches him to pray, the Father by promise 
 and entreaty urges him to pray, and the experiences 
 of Spiritual life lead him in the same direction. 
 When the soul in the outo-oinos of faith and love 
 rises in desire after God, and opens the deep cavities 
 of his inner being to the reception of the Divine that 
 she may enjoy closer fellowship with God, then does 
 the believer realise that there is a power in prayer ; 
 that God by His Spirit, in answer to his longing 
 desire, descends into the soul and fills it with the 
 joys of His salvation as He ravishes it with the bliss 
 of His indwelling presence. And when we carefully 
 study the events of God's providence in the move- 
 ments of our lives, we clearly perceive that there is a 
 power in prayer, and feel constrained with the 
 disciples to say, "Lord, teach us how to pray." 
 
 Yet some men are reluctant, and refuse to pray, 
 on the ground that they can see no connection 
 between prayer and the events of everyday life. 
 Nay, some even go further, and deny that there 
 can be any connection between these things. But 
 in doing so, they display an amazing amount of 
 ignorance, not to speak of imj)iety. All men grant 
 that there is a connection between the cultivation of 
 the soil and an abundant harvest, and, therefore, 
 they till the ground. All men admit that there is a 
 connection between the study of nature and the 
 growth of the human mind in knowledge. But 
 
D UTY AND RA TIONALE OF FRA I 'ER. 3 5 1 
 
 because tliey do not see the connection between 
 prayer and its answer, they deny that there is any 
 such connection. Now Avere it even so that we could 
 see no connection between prayer and its answ^er, and 
 could at the same time see clearly every link in the 
 connection of cause and effect in the physical and 
 mental progress of man, this would be no solid ob- 
 jection to prayer. Much less would it justify us in 
 refusing to do what, as we have seen, Nature herself 
 prompts us to, what God Himself expressly commands 
 us to do, and what the experience of spiritual life 
 urges and encourages us to do. 
 
 It would seem, therefore, that in this objection to 
 prayer, there is both too much expected on the one 
 hand, and too much assumed on the other. The 
 truth is, that in natural causation, the connection is 
 no more seen than is the connection in Divine causa- 
 tion ; strictly speaking, the connection in both is 
 one, and in urging upon men the duty of prayer, 
 much might be urged on the plea that prayer is the 
 lansuao'e of faith and not of siirht, and much mioht 
 be made of the fact that we are commanded by God 
 to pray, and that, therefore, on the simple principle 
 of recognising the authority of God, " men ought 
 always to pray," and further, that it is irrational and 
 impious, because we see no connection between 
 prayer and its answer, to refuse to pray. But 
 waiving these grounds, let us look at the objection 
 more closely, and see if it be really as valid as its 
 supporters would have us to believe. 
 
 Nature, as is well known, has not as yet revealed 
 
352 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 to ii§ every link in tlie cliain of cause and effect. 
 Science cannot explain to us the nexus wliicli binds 
 the cause to its effect ; it has not as yet conducted 
 us through all the departments of Nature's workshop, 
 nor shown to us the entire process of all her fabrica- 
 tions, nor led us into the knowledge of all the 
 qualities of every element of matter, and all the 
 relations which do subsist, or may subsist, among 
 them, and how she combines her forces in brinoinf}^ 
 about this or that result. Science cannot throw all 
 the liolit we desiderate on the connection which 
 subsists between means and end, nor can it show us 
 the bond which binds together the different atoms of 
 matter, nor tell us what are the simple elements or 
 elementary forces of matter, and how they operate 
 in harmonious or discordant combinations. It cannot 
 lay bare the connection which subsists between mind 
 and matter — how matter influences mind, and mind 
 acts on matter, or how spirit acts on spirit, and 
 ojDcrates in mind. 
 
 If the physical laws, about the immutability of 
 which we hear so much now-a-days, be such as to 
 preclude the very possibility of answer to prayer, 
 and make it absurd for us to pray with any prospect 
 of receiving an answer, will those who thus speak 
 explain to us the cause of the variations which are 
 ever taking place in the lives of individual men, or 
 in the movements of Divine providence ? 
 
 If all events happen in accordance with an eternal 
 law of matter, how is it that no two results in 
 chemical experiment, in the operations of nature, 
 
D UTY AND RA TIONALE OF PR A YER. 3 5 3 
 
 or in the actions of man, turn out alike ? We would 
 not tlms deny the existence of eternal and immut- 
 able principles, by no means ; and here, if we mistake 
 not, lies the solution of the difficulty which presses 
 in connection with material laws. 
 
 Law is nothing more than the mode or invariable 
 manner in which certain forces, in certain combina- 
 tions, act. And as forces are dependent on atoms, 
 and the relations in which the atoms stand to each 
 other severally, the mode in which the forces act 
 cannot be eternal, but the principle of their o]3eration 
 is, and must be, eternal, viz., that the exact same 
 forces, in the exact same relation to each other, or in 
 the exact same combination, will ever be found to 
 produce the exact same result. 
 
 It is involved in the very idea of cause and effect 
 that the effect depends on the cause, the end on the 
 operation of the powers in combination, the action 
 on the will of the actor. It is one of the first 
 teachings of reason that an end cannot be looked for 
 but through the employment of the means, that 
 effect cannot proceed but from an adequate cause, 
 and that like causes must ever produce like effects. 
 Whence, then, the variety which we find all around 
 us in the operations of nature, and in mind and 
 spirit ? Philosophy cannot explain these varieties on 
 its jDrinciple of immutable law, nor can philosophers, 
 by clinging to this doctrine, ever reach an adequate 
 explanation of the variety referred to. Can, however, 
 the principle involved in the doctrine of prayer throw 
 
 z 
 
334 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 any liglit on tliis important subject ? Let us liumLly 
 inquire if it can. 
 
 The object cliiefly souglit in prayer is the progress 
 of tlie kingdom of God in tlie hearts of men individu- 
 ally and in tlie world. Prayer is the asking of God 
 to regulate the events of His providence by the opera- 
 tions of His Spirit, so that the soul of the petitioner 
 may be assimilated to God ; it is the asking of God 
 to conform all lives to the pattern of His Son's life, 
 and to regulate the movements of His providence and 
 the operations of nature, so as to subserve this end. 
 This request involves two things, viz., God's agency 
 in combination, or His control over the operations of 
 nature ; and the giving of His Spirit to influence 
 subordinate agents, so as to lead them to co-operate 
 with Himself. And in this there is nothing inconsis- 
 tent with the character of God, the co-operation of 
 subordinate agency, or the operations of nature. 
 
 We speak of forces and of agents, we speak of 
 particles of matter as possessed of energy and capa- 
 city, and thus we conceive of the negative and j)osi- 
 tive forces. If one atom is brought into contact with 
 another, the energy in the one will unite with the 
 energy in the other, or repel it ; and thus there will be 
 an increase of force, or a decrease, as the case may be. 
 And thus, power in matter is not uncontrolled, but 
 dependent on the combination of atoms in Avhich it 
 resides ; and every combination of atoms recj[uires 
 the action of one or more agents, and a plurality of 
 agents involves a subordination, and, as a result, a 
 
DUTY AND RATIONALE OF PR A YER. 355 
 
 supreme actor or ultimate combinator. These we 
 may postulate as primary beliefs. 
 
 The forces inherent in elements continue ever the 
 same, and differ only in their mode of ojDeration ; but 
 this difference in the mode of operation is the result 
 of difference of their combination, and is no alteration 
 of their nature. The proper idea, then, of causation, 
 is the order observed in combination, and the immut- 
 able law of physical nature is merely the necessity of 
 the forces combined, to act in accordance with the 
 principle of their combination. Combine so many 
 elements possessed of certain characteristics, and you 
 will have, as often as you make the combination, the 
 same result. Alter in the least the mode of the com- 
 bination, either in the number of the elements or in 
 the order of their arrangement, and you have a corre- 
 sponding alteration in the result. Combine so many 
 agencies of the same nature to act in the same manner, 
 and you will have the same result as often as you 
 make the combination. Alter the combination in the 
 number or order of the agents, and to that extent 
 you will have a change in the result. 
 
 We know of nothing on which to ground the idea 
 that the Almighty has subjected Himself to any 
 principle or law of combination which excludes Him 
 from the free exercise of His function as Supreme 
 Combinator, and if He has reserved to Himself, as 
 doubtless He has, the right of the free exercise of the 
 power of combination in connection with all His 
 creatures, has He not done this in perfect harmony 
 with the nature He has given to them, and the 
 
356 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 principles of His rigliteous administration ? And it 
 is surely conceivable that whenever He pleases He 
 may make any combination to bring about whatever 
 result in nature, providence, or redemption which 
 may seem good to Him, whether in answer to prayer 
 or otherwise. It is surely not a wild idea to suppose 
 that God has so arranged the principles of His 
 government, that prayer shall form an element of 
 power in the combinations of causation. As already 
 indicated it is clear from the nature of man that he 
 is formed to pray, and as all Christians hold, experi- 
 ence shows that God does answer prayer. It is, more- 
 over, demonstrable — we hold from the entire history of 
 mankind — that God has in His providence over man 
 constituted prayer an element in causation. All 
 history, in fact, proves that asking is a means to an 
 end; every page that records the deeds of men or 
 nations shows that the most important events, which 
 have taken place in the providence of God, have been 
 brought about through the instrumentality of asking. 
 Yes, events the most unlikely to occur in the ordinary 
 course of nature have been brought about through the 
 power of asking. What, e.rj., secured the deliverance 
 of Eome, when every other means failed, but the 
 urgent prayer of the mother and wife of Coriolanus ! 
 What rescued the Jewish nation from the destruction 
 which the crafty malice of Haman had prepared 
 for it, but the petitioning of Esther ! What, again, 
 was the prevailing element in bringing about the 
 death of our Lord when Pilate was anxious to let 
 
D UTY AND RA TIONALE OF PR A YER. 3 5 7 
 
 Him go, but the urgent request of the rulers, and the 
 loud cries of the Jewish mob. 
 
 Volumes might be written on the things which 
 have taken place in answer to requests made. The 
 principle of petition we maintain enters largely into, 
 and acts powerfully among, the elements of causation ; 
 indeed, it would be difficult to find another so general 
 in the relations, and influential in the movements of 
 human life. What Ave are to guard against is, not 
 the idea that prayer acts in the movements of life, 
 but the supposition that the principle of petition 
 acts alone irrespective of or in opposition to the 
 other elements of causation, a means necessary to 
 an end. 
 
 Now, if God has assigned so prominent a position 
 and influence to the principle of petition among the 
 doino-s of His creatures, is it not unreasonable to 
 affirm that He has reserved to Himself no power of 
 being influenced thereby. It would, indeed, be strange 
 if God has constituted man so that in certain circum- 
 stances he must pray to his Father, but that his 
 Father has so tied up His own hands by physical laws 
 that He cannot hear and answer the cry of His dutiful 
 child. There is something almost monstrous in the 
 thought that the power of petition moves man in 
 every sphere and circumstance of his life, but that it 
 can have no influence with God. If God has reserved 
 to Himself the supreme power in every combination, 
 and has constituted prayer an element of causation, 
 it will take far w^eightier reasons than have yet been 
 advanced to persuade the unprejudiced mind that 
 
35S THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE 
 
 when man acts in accordance witli the promptings of 
 his nature and the command of God, God can in no 
 wise act so as to secure an answer to that prayer ; 
 and all because, forsooth ! certain philosophers w^ill 
 have it that physical law is unalterable. Surely the 
 unbelief that, on this ground, refuses to see how prayer 
 can be answered is far more credulous than is the 
 most unassuming of all those Avho believe and pray, 
 because in their simplicity they expect that God will 
 hear and answer their cry. 
 
 Physical law, as already indicated, is nothing else 
 than the necessity that like combinations shall produce 
 like effects. Now, is this any obstacle to the answer- 
 ing of prayer ? On the contrary, it is rather a 
 guarantee that prayer can be answered. If every 
 effect in physical science be what it is by the presence 
 or absence of this, that, or the other element of com- 
 bination, then the presence or absence of an element 
 must affect the result. And, in point of fact, the his- 
 tory of man illustrates the truth of this position, for 
 the most trivial as well as the mightiest and most 
 important events in human history have been 
 influenced by petition, and have been brought to 
 pass at the same time, in entire accordance with the 
 operations of universal law. 
 
 Reader, acquaint yourself with all the results of 
 petition. Go to the selfish, parsimonious, and grudg- 
 ing creature, man; get from him by petition what 
 otherwise you would not receive, and obtain it in 
 perfect accordance Avith the law of his nature, and 
 the ordinary principles of his conduct. And, then. 
 
D UTY AND RA TIONALE OF PR A YER. 3 5 9 
 
 realise tlie deep promptings of your own inner being, 
 beckoning your desires Godward, forget not the com- 
 mands and encouragements He has given you to pray, 
 but, ah ! request not anything of Him, lest you 
 grieve and vex His Spirit, by reminding Him of the 
 folly and weakness of interlacing Himself with immut- 
 able laws to such an extent that He cannot take any 
 notice of the requests addressed to Him, in compliance 
 with His own commands. Oh, spare the tenderness 
 of His heart, the melting compassion of His love, lest 
 you cause Him to repent that He has so interlaced 
 Himself with immutable physical laws, that, although 
 His children cry unto Him, and His own bowels yearn 
 over them because of their wretchedness. He is yet 
 wholly helpless to aid them in the very least, or to 
 move in accordance with the desire of His heart. 
 
 But it w^ould appear that we are mistaken in attri- 
 butins: care and minute attention to God, for the all- 
 important discovery of the new philosophy is, that 
 " God does not take up His attention with small, but 
 only with great matters." The Great God not taking 
 up His attention with small matters ! What, we ask, 
 are small or great matters to Him ? Does He not 
 from the minute advance to the vast ? His concep- 
 tions of small and great are not like ours. Is He not 
 every day proving to us that we can form no proper 
 estimate of small and great 1 He is ever showing us 
 that Avhat we suppose to be small or trivial often 
 turns out to be that which has folded up in it the 
 most important and lasting results, which affect 
 deeply the entire lives of those connected with it ; 
 
-,60 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 o 
 
 the wellbeing of communities and the destiny of 
 nations. How conspicuously is this truth seen in 
 what are regarded as small sins. And, on the other 
 hand, how often do we find that what we have 
 looked forward to as of great importance, passes 
 away as a shadow of a dream ! AVe dare not thus 
 limit God, who is found to be equally present and 
 careful in the formation of the insect's wing and in 
 the creation of a planet or an entire solar sys- 
 tem. 
 
 And this wonderful announcement that " God does 
 not take up His attention with the small but only 
 with great matters," is pompously given forth as the 
 great discovery of the enlightened wisdom of the 
 age. But every tyro knows that such nonsense 
 is only the resurrection of the epicurean dream, the 
 dictum of ancient sceptics found in the writings of 
 the sophists, and as old as the delusions of Satan. 
 We have only to study the record of the ancient 
 schools to meet with this very doctrine, which in 
 these days is given forth with the most oracular 
 assurance to the youth assembled for the study 
 of that volume — every page of which teaches them to 
 pray. Not to speak of the intelligence, wisdom, and 
 piety, where, we would ask, is the kindness of the 
 professor to his students, or of the minister to his 
 peoj)le, who would perplex and harass them by 
 teaching such views to the youth or the congregation, 
 convened for the study of the doctrines of Him who 
 taught that the j)i'ovidence of God extended even to 
 the numbering of the hairs of our head, and to the 
 
D UTY AND RA TIONALE OF PR A YER. 3 6 1 
 
 observing of the fall of a sparrow ; and wlio taught 
 that if man, even though selfish, knows how to give 
 good gifts unto his children, our heavenly Father is 
 much more inclined to give good things to them that 
 ask Him ; and who not only taught His disciples 
 to pray, but Himself spent whole nights in prayer on 
 the cold mountain slopes. 
 
 In comparison with the dogma referred to, it is not 
 only more scriptural, but also far more philosophical, 
 to instruct students of theology and congregations of 
 worshippers that God is everywhere present through 
 all His works, and that while His nature is unchange- 
 able. His modes of operation are ever so changing 
 that no two of His acts are precisely alike, and from this 
 to teach them that there is nothing so variable as the 
 phenomena of Divine Providence, or the operations 
 of physical law, but that these variations in the phe- 
 nomena of physical law do not happen from any 
 change in the principles of the Divine administration, 
 but simply from a difierence in the nature, number, 
 or order of the elements in combination. It is both 
 scriptural and philosophical to believe that Jehovah, 
 sitting on the circle of the universe, can at any time 
 send forth an infi.uence through all the ranks of being, 
 and thereby affect the elements and agents of His 
 government in such a way as to secure in perfect 
 harmony with the nature of His creatures any event 
 He may desire to bring about. Or, if there be no 
 existing power to accomplish His end, He can when 
 He chooses create such a power. 
 
 If God has established a subordinate order of 
 
362 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 agencies and powers, it takes no great stretch of im- 
 agination to regard Him as accomplishing through 
 them whatever He pleases, and also as doing this in 
 answer to the prayers of His dutiful children. 
 
 There are more things in nature than philosophy 
 has ever dreamed of ; and the great vice of the dis- 
 ciples of unbending physical law is the assumption, 
 that because physical nature does not lay God bare 
 before their eyes in His being and working, therefore, 
 it is questionable as to whether He exists at all ; or, 
 if He does exist, whether He has anything to do with 
 the affairs of men ; and as they deal with God, so they 
 also deal with all matters in any way supposed to be 
 connected with Him. The Spiritual is relegated into 
 the background, and the physical set prominently 
 forward. 
 
 It is an easy matter for such 2:)ersons, though not 
 very philosophical, to deny what believers have al- 
 ways affirmed, viz., that matter and mind are wholly 
 different substances though compatible substances, 
 and that the former is subordinate to the latter. It is 
 also easy to deny all Satanic as well as Divine influ- 
 ence. As, for example, when it is said that Satan 
 brought about the ruin that overtook the patriarch 
 Job, it is easy we say to deny this, because that it is 
 all explicable on natural grounds, but it is not, there- 
 fore, an evidence of wisdom. Our position is that 
 mind, angelic, human, or demoniac, has power over 
 matter, and, God permitting, can form new combina- 
 tions, and bring about new results good and bad. It 
 is neither so foolish nor unphilosophical as the dis- 
 
DUTY AND RATIONALE OF PRAYER. i<Si 
 
 ciples of physical law seem to fancy tlie assertion, 
 viz., that the angel of death may blow in the face ot 
 the enemy as he passes through their midst, and that 
 the angel of the Lord encamps round about them 
 that fear Him, and that all is done in accordance 
 with the principles of universal law. 
 
 The utmost efforts of the ablest and most consistent 
 advocates of immutable physical law fail to satisfy us 
 that the different prohibitions and commands of God 
 to these different orders of spiritual agents have no 
 connection with the prayers of His people. Or, that 
 the prayers of one individual have no influence on 
 the destiny of another. Nothing which they have to 
 advance can shake intelligent confidence in the belief 
 that the petitions of one age have a bearing on the 
 condition of another. The upholders of invariable 
 physical law cannot show us that trivial matters in 
 themselves, but mighty in their results, may not have 
 had some connection with prayer. Such, e.g., as the 
 glance of Bruce's eye to the repeated efforts of the 
 spider when his case seemed hopeless, the awakening 
 of Luther's desire in his cell to turn over the pages 
 of his Bible ; or the impression on the mind of Colum- 
 bus that a continent lay embedded in the western 
 waters. 
 
 But, still, it is urged that the particular answer to 
 prayer involves a miracle, and what if it should ? 
 Miracles are not impossible to the Hearer of Prayer. 
 If the Gospels are trustworthy records, apart even 
 from inspiration, miracles occurred in answer to the 
 prayers addressed to Christ. But let those who make 
 
364 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 the assertion sliow tliat what they say is true, and how 
 a miracle is involved in bringing about the particular 
 event supjDosed to happen in answer to prayer. Are 
 not events happening every moment that would never 
 have happened but for the asking of them ? And 
 does the occurrence of these involve a miracle ? No 
 one will assert that it does. If, then, God has granted 
 to His creatures the power of answering the requests 
 of one another without the workin^^ of miracles, or 
 the infringement of any physical law, why are we so 
 strongly urged to believe that He cannot Himself 
 answer the petitions of His children without working 
 miracles and infringing laws ? Surely it is a strange 
 delusion to suppose that God is more restricted than 
 man is — a hallucination that can only be explained on 
 the oTOund that men do not like to retain God in their 
 thoughts. 
 
 Still men wdll clins; to the idea that miracles are 
 necessarily involved in answering prayer, and we 
 must try to meet them on their own ground. Such 
 persons, we fear, have not formed to themselves clear 
 conceptions of what a miracle is ; probably some of 
 them regard a miracle as an impossibility, inasmuch 
 as it in some Avay involves a contradiction. Then, if 
 the answering of prayer necessitated anything of this 
 sort, we would join with them in the belief that 
 prayer cannot be answered. Probably others among 
 them look upon a miracle as an infringement of the 
 laws of nature, which are the laws of God ; then do 
 we also agree with these, that if the answering of 
 prayer necessitated any such infringement, it could 
 
DUTY AND RA TIONALE OF PR A YER. 365 
 
 not be answered. If, however, a miracle be regarded 
 as the communicating of an additional power to the 
 functions of nature, or even the creating of a new 
 power to effect a new and hitherto unheard-of result, 
 then one or other, or both of them, are possible, and 
 have in point of fact occurred, e.cj. , in the incarnation 
 of the Son of God, and the regeneration of the soul 
 of man. But these also are denied by some men who 
 are not ashamed to call them.selves Christian. 
 
 The existence of sin, however, we think, will not 
 be denied ; if not, then, let all such persons look into 
 its nature, and they will perceive that it is an infringe- 
 ment of law ; for it is " the transgression of the law," 
 the deraugement of moral harmony and physical 
 function. The sinfulness of man is a grievous dis- 
 cord introduced among the principles of his spiritual 
 being and life, and this fact of sin is stronger than 
 any miracle known to us in its violation of all law 
 and order. In the sense indicated, viz., the violation 
 of law, sin is one of the most dreadful of all possible 
 miracles, and does it become a creature, who in his 
 every-day life experiences the sad effects of sin, to 
 object to prayer on the ground that its answer 
 involves an infringement of physical law ! 
 
 The conclusion, then, at which we arrive is this, viz., 
 that it enters into the original constitution of things, 
 that God should give certain blessings when these are 
 asked for in prayer, and withhold them when not 
 souo'ht thus : further, that an instinct has been 
 implanted in man which prompts him to make his 
 wants known in prayer to his Father in heaven. 
 
366 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 A difficulty, no doubt, liere arises, inasmucli as God 
 is the Supreme Judge of right and wrong ; and as we 
 have broken His laws, and stand before Him as 
 rebellious sons, it is needful in some way that this 
 matter shonld be met, and the difficulty overcome. 
 With this object in view, a new power has been 
 introduced into the government of God, and as we 
 have seen, this new power is the atonement of Christ 
 which harmonises the manifestations of God with the 
 wants of men and the requirements of law. And, now, 
 in order to lead man to pray, the Holy Ghost has 
 been sent to plead with him, and the gospel of the 
 grace of God in Christ has been published abroad, in 
 which gospel men are entreated and commanded to 
 pray, and the most precious promises are held out 
 with a view to encourage men to engage in the 
 exercise. 
 
 Am I, therefore, not J;o pray, because some men are 
 disposed to imagine that the answering of prayer 
 involves a miracle, a some wonderful infringement 
 of physical law ? Am I really to believe that by 
 sinning, I can derange the functions of my whole 
 nature, and disturb the harmony of Divine govern- 
 ment, and refuse to pray, because certain philosophers 
 have a vague idea in their minds about the infringe- 
 ment of physical laws ? Am I not rather to believe 
 that it is the will of God that I should pray ? Am I 
 to believe that He has so ordered matters in connection 
 with my salvation that the very first step in my 
 return to God shall be the utterance of prayer ? Am 
 I, we say, to believe all this, and yet be deterred from 
 
D UTY AND RA TIONALE OF PR A YER. 3 6 7 
 
 praying to God because of a vague inference drawn 
 by some men that an answer to my prayer violates 
 physical law ? Good God ! on what are the hearts of 
 men bent in their idolatrous worship and insane 
 jealousy on behalf of physical law ? 
 
 Scriptural views of prayer do not lead us to 
 imagine that physical law is plastic in the hands 
 of men, by no means; but they do lead us to the 
 belief that by means of these very laws in all their 
 rigidity and invariablencss, God works out the good 
 pleasure of His will in harmony with the nature of 
 His creatures, and the principles of His administra- 
 tion. 
 
 Another objection to prayer is, that it is presump- 
 tuous for a creature like man to think that God will 
 listen to his requests, or interfere with the move- 
 ments of nature on his behalf. This objection, like 
 most others, arises out of mistaken notions about 
 the nature and purpose of God, and His doings in 
 connection with man. From His omniscience. He 
 cannot but listen to the recjuests of every man, and 
 observe the motions of every soul. And it is just as 
 easy for Him to arrange the movements and guide 
 the operations of nature so as to answer the petitions 
 of His children, as it is delightful to Him to listen to 
 their prayers. 
 
 God is not a being of limited resources, dealing 
 out His gifts with a grudging, or even sparing hand ; 
 but the Father of Spirits, glad to impart of His own 
 fulness to His offspring, man. And in all the pleni- 
 tude of His beino- He has made Himself the treasure 
 
 O 
 
368 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 of tlieir soul, He has created humanity receptive of 
 Himself, the temple of His holy habitation ; and it 
 is His delight to bestow, with all the generosity of His 
 being, His fulness on man; and His gifts in no degree 
 impoverish Himself. Look at His unspeakable gift, 
 the Son of His love, the brightness of His glory, and 
 the express image of His person. And is it presump- 
 tion on the part of those who profess to have received 
 this gift to ask for anything else the Father hath to 
 bestow ? To all such persons no argument comes 
 home T\dth greater force than that used by Paul, 
 when, with irresistible power, he urges : '* He that 
 spared not His own Son, but gave Him up to the 
 death for us all, how shall He not with Him also 
 freely give us all things." 
 
 The end of all God's dealings in creation, provi- 
 dence, and redemption, is to produce the filial heart 
 in man ; and if so, can there be anything too great 
 for the Son to ask, or for the Father to bestow ? 
 
( 369 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 The whole of God's dealing with man from first to 
 last has been, as indicated, with a view to impart to 
 him the highest nature, and to place wdthin his reach 
 the highest development which finite existence is 
 capable of reaching. And in the carrying out of 
 this purpose man's relation of being and life are 
 indefinitely multiplying, and his capacities are being 
 unfolded in the most glorious manner. God is 
 begetting sons in His own image, and revealing 
 Himself to them as their " Father in heaven." 
 
 In all creation's work there is nothing grander 
 than man. The mechanism of his body is perfect, 
 more perfect than any machine ever devised, and 
 nothing can transcend his rational and spiritual 
 existence; humanity of all natures known to us 
 has entered into a oneness of life, and even person- 
 ality with the Divine. And in the redemption of 
 man God is not only disj^laying the highest per- 
 fection of His own being, but developing the capa- 
 cities and powers of humanity, and is calling man 
 into the Sonship, and leading him into the inner 
 circle of His own immediate fellowship. 
 
 2 A 
 
370 THE SCIENCE OF SPIIUTUAL LIFE. 
 
 Man, however, in order to tlie attainment of tliis 
 enel, must work out Avbat God works in liim. The 
 function of tlie body is to work out what the soul 
 ■works in it, nothing more and nothing less ; and the 
 Spirit's function is to work out Avhat the Spirit of 
 God works in it, nothing more and nothing less. In 
 this outworking the perfection of being and the 
 liarmony of life is realised. Man is blessed only 
 in fellowship with God, and the work of bringing 
 liim into this fellowship is the work which God 
 lias emphatically made His own, and in the accom- 
 plishment of it He is showing forth His glory. 
 
 In everything, however, that appertains to this work, 
 the believer should carefully bear in mind that he is 
 only an under builder, working out what God by His 
 Spirit works in him. He should never lose sight of 
 the fact, that it is the prerogative of the Holy Ghost 
 to work within him, "both to will and to do of God's 
 good pleasure." The great mistake of the disciple in 
 all ages, has been to loose sight of this one funda- 
 mental principle. One of the first public blunders 
 which the twelve fell into was the forbidding of one 
 to cast out devils because he followed not with tbcm ; 
 a regard to formal ends, and a leaning to human 
 opinions and authority, has been an error of the dis- 
 ciples all along, instead of sitting at the feet of Jesus, 
 and learning the law from His lips, and desiring 
 above all thinc^s to be conformed to Him. The first 
 twelve were ever clinoinix to their own notions, and 
 endeavouring to bring Christ over to their likings, 
 ideas, and ends. The undivided looking to the 
 
CONCLUSION. 371 
 
 Saviour, tlie unqualified reception of Him, and the 
 depending upon Him alone for salvation, lias been 
 tlie one difficulty of the quickened, and partially 
 sanctified on earth, and this is still the folly and 
 weakness of the Church below. 
 
 It shall not, however, be thus in heaven, for there 
 the disciple shall be raised far above such folly, the 
 saint, both in his external circumstances and internal 
 condition, shall then be perfect in knowledge, in 
 purity, and in strength ; here he sees but " through a 
 glass darkly," "he knows but in part," but there "he 
 shall see face to face, and know even as he is known." 
 Eevelation, here, unlike the noonday sun, which 
 completely chases away the darkness of the night, is 
 rather like the midnight star, which, while it dis- 
 closes itself, tends only to make the surrounding dark- 
 ness the more palpable. Revelation not only tells us 
 of a darkness within it, but also makes known to us 
 a darkness without ; it tells us of things which lie 
 beyond the reach of reason's discovery, and far remote 
 from the sphere of our present power of investigation. 
 It also tells us of truths, which, while beyond the 
 reach of our present comprehension, are truths in the 
 knowledge of which our highest interest are deeply 
 involved, and truths which, while we remain in 
 our present state, can never be adequately known 
 by us. 
 
 But in the world to come our present limitations 
 shall cease to clog our powers, the clouds and dark- 
 ness which now surround us shall all be dispelled in 
 the light of God's countenance, and we shall be per- 
 
372 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 feet in love and knowledge ; for, possessed of a 
 capacity for knowledge boundless as space, and of 
 powers capable of indefinite expansion, tlie believer 
 will be able to contain in liis compreliensive grasp 
 not only adequate ideas of all worlds, but a complete 
 acquaintance witli all created essences, and, scanning 
 not only the surface but penetrating into the inmost 
 recesses of things, the glorified son shall be acquainted 
 with all the possibilities of creation, as well as with 
 all the actualities, and shall rise to the perfect know- 
 ledge of the divine wisdom and goodness of God as 
 displayed in the works of His all -creating hand. 
 And most of all, interested in redemption's glorious 
 achievement, the son will surpass the angels in his 
 knowledge of the things which they even now 
 earnestly desire to look into, and advancing to all 
 but absolute knowledge of the lacing and perfections 
 of the Eternal God, as displayed in the highest of 
 all His w^orks, beholding the divine love in all but 
 the infinitude of its grace, the divine mercy in the 
 boundless riches of its majesty and grandeur ; nor 
 resting here, but in the full consciousness of the filial 
 heart admitted into the immediate presence of the 
 " Father of Spirits," holding uninterrupted com- 
 munion with the Eternal Jehovah, and standing in 
 the nearest relation to the unveiled Three, the son 
 in glory will obtain the highest knowledge of the 
 divine essence, perfection, and work to which created 
 nature can attain. 
 
 And what shall be the bliss of that vision ? If, 
 even here, amid the imperfections of the present 
 
CONCLUSION. 373 
 
 state, the perception of divine wisdom and goodness 
 is found to impart a pure delight, and the knowledge 
 of God in Christ, to afford a transporting joy, wdiat 
 must be the emotion produced by the cloudless vision 
 of Jehovah's glory, and the untainted purities of the 
 perfect state ? AVhat must be the ravishing ecstasy 
 of the redeemed soul perfected in the image of God, 
 when, all but absolute in his grasp, he shall survey 
 the entire fabric of creation, and comprehend the 
 beauty of God's perfect and complete design, and 
 when, worshipping in the temple not made with 
 hands, he shall behold the Father enthroned on the 
 necessity of His own existence, and radiant in the 
 glory of His own uncreated essence % 
 
 Yet, desirable and blessed as knowledoje is, it is 
 only after all a means to an end, and this end is 
 holiness, the perfection of nature and life. There are 
 attainments in heaven on which the heart of the 
 glorified son shall be more intent than even know- 
 ledge. The son knows that beyond the grave he 
 shall no longer bewail his imperfect purity, for there 
 he shall be bright with the transcript of the Divine 
 Image, and pure as the spotless resemblance of God. 
 The son knows he shall then be no longer the subject 
 of contending passions, torn and distracted with the 
 motions of sin. No longer exj^osed to the disturbing- 
 influences of the wicked one ; no longer surrounded 
 by objects which withdraw his attention from the 
 divine, and lead him to forgetfulness of God ; no 
 longer within the reach of diabolic hate, but in 
 heaven itself, the region of perfection and bliss. 
 
374 THE SCIENCE OF SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 The son shall tlien realise obedience to be as spon- 
 taneous as tlie perennial spring, and delightsome as 
 the overflowing of gratitude. Fully delivered from evil 
 of every kind, washed with all the cleansing efficacy 
 of redeeming blood, and wholly sanctified by the 
 Spirit of God, he shall dwell in the immediate 
 presence of the Father, and bask for ever in the 
 smile of His love. 
 
 If even on earth amid the remains of imperfection 
 the son realises the joys of holiness to be delightful, 
 and if the anticipation of its full realisation above 
 thrills the soul, and wafts the spirit of the believer in 
 transports of joy to the realms of bliss, what shall be 
 the ravishing ecstasy of the believer's delight when 
 completely delivered from all imperfections, from sin 
 and all its consequences, he shall behold the face of 
 God in rioiiteous bless ? 
 
 In heaven the saint shall be strong in ''the grace 
 that is in Christ Jesus," "strengthened with all 
 strens^th in the inner " and outer man he shall for ever 
 reign with imperial power over all evil. Here the 
 saint is feeble and frail, he halts too often in moments 
 of temptation, and hesitates at times between self and 
 God ; but in heaven he shall be strong in the posses- 
 sion of a renewed and wholly sanctified nature. Per- 
 ceiving the possibilities and results of all actions, and 
 acting in entire harmony with the ends, and in per- 
 fect concord with the agencies appointed by God in 
 the full energy of the conscious rectitude of his doing, 
 in bringing about new combinations, the son shall 
 accomplish glorious results and send thrills of delight 
 
CONCLUSION. 375 
 
 to creation's utmost bounds. Immortal in liis nature, 
 all-discerning in his knowledge, all-rigliteous in liis 
 principles, all-beneficent in liis designs, all-divine in 
 his volitions, there can be no conflict or restraint in 
 his acting. What, then, must be the conscious delight 
 of the son in the full enjoyment of his strength above ? 
 
 The believer may be unknown to the world and 
 disregarded by it in the glorious work of assimilating 
 his life to the divine. As his Lord was so is he in 
 the world. But in the kingdom of God, as a prince 
 in the court of his Father, the son shall occupy the 
 loftiest position, and shall be fully aj)preciated as one 
 of those for whose sake the universe was called into 
 being, and on whose behalf the highest powers and 
 perfections of Godhead have been disj)layed. As a 
 King and Priest unto God, the believer shall closely 
 resemble his Elder Brother, the Incarnate One, the 
 King of Glory. 
 
 While on earth the believer is often denied the 
 society of the illustrious and learned, from wdiom he 
 could learn many things ; but in heaven he shall 
 mingle with the most illustrious, and occupy a posi- 
 tion hiojher than the anofelic host : he shall meet with 
 the virtuous of all ages, and hold intercourse with the 
 loftiest orders of existence ; he shall company with all 
 the great and good who have gone before him, and 
 may yet follow after him ; he shall enjoy their society 
 and commune with them on all that can occu^^y their 
 thoughts and delight their hearts ; and above all, he 
 shall enjoy uninterrupted communion with Father, 
 Son, and Holy Ghost. 
 
376 THE SCIENCE OE SPIRITUAL LIFE. 
 
 If, tlieu, tlie love of distinction and the conscious- 
 ness of dignity be natural to man's immortal being, 
 Avhat shall be the pure satisfaction and delight of the 
 son when he becomes fully conscious of his true dig- 
 nity and high distinction in His Father's house above ? 
 No heart on earth can comprehend the joy and delight 
 of such a realisation. Oh, then, what shall be the 
 emotions of the ransomed soul when first it awakens 
 to the consciousness of the felicities of the life above, 
 and finds itself in tlie immediate presence of the 
 Eternal God, beholding His unveiled glories, and 
 sliaring in the full participation of that glory whicli 
 the Eternal Son has received from His Everlasting 
 Father, as the reward of His obedience unto death, 
 ever worshipping with extasy and delight, ever 
 studying with adoring wonder the mysteries of re- 
 deeming love, and conscious that all is of free sove- 
 reign grace ! What must be the enrapturing beatitude 
 of the immortal soul, as ever and anon, in adoring 
 gratitude, it casts its crown before the throne, ascrib- 
 ing "blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, unto 
 Him that sitteth upon the throne," as they all with 
 one united heart and voice exclaim, "Not unto us, 
 but unto Thy name, be the glory." 
 
 " A Avoid reached me stealthily, 
 AthI my car heard a whisper thereof 
 111 the phiy of thought : in the visions of the night, 
 When deep sleep falleth on men. 
 Fear came npon me, and, tremhling, 
 
 And it caused the nuiltitude of my bones to qnake with fear, 
 And a breathing passed over my face, 
 The hair of my flesh stood up. 
 
CONCLUSION. 377 
 
 It stood there and I discerned not its appearance, 
 
 An image was before mine eyes, 
 
 A gentle murmur and I heard a voice : 
 
 Is mortal man just before Eloah, 
 
 Or a man pure before his Maker ? ' 
 
 " Thou hast gone up on high, 
 Thou hast captivated captivity, 
 Thou hast acquired gifts for men. 
 Yea, even rebels may become the dwelling of Jehovah God." 
 
 "I in tliem and Tlioii in Me, that tliey may be 
 made perfect in one, and that the workl may know 
 that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as 
 Thou hast loved Me." 
 
 THE END. 
 
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