SERMON II.

MANIFESTATION OF TRUTH TO THE CONSCIENCE.

SECOND EPISTLE TO CORINTHIANS, IV, 2.

But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

THE Apostle would seem to be here contrasting himself with the priests of idolaters, with the scribes and priests of the Jews, or with corrupt teachers of Christianity, who imposed on their followers, served their own dishonest or dishonourable ends, or concealed their secret crimes. There was nothing of duplicity in the true servants of Christ: they did not profess one thing, and aim at another: they did not keep back, conceal, or modify, the distinguishing doctrines of the Gospel, in

order to adapt them to the prejudices of their hearers, or make them less at variance with their vices. On the contrary, they endeavoured to set forth the whole truth in the most clear and convincing light; so that, even if the heart remained untouched, the conscience should be compelled to bear testimony to their message.

There are two of the assertions of St.

Paul which we wish to select from the rest, and take as the subject of our present discourse. The first is his assertion as to his "not handling the Word of God deceitfully": the second is his assertion as to his commending himself by "manifestation of the truth to every man's conscience in the sight of God". With regard to "handling the Word of God deceitfully", both the promises and the threatenings of the Bible may be handled deceitfully. You all perceive this in regard of the promises of Scripture. If they are carelessly or wrongfully applied, and made to speak peace where there is no peace, so

that men are encouraged to hope, on insufficient grounds, for the pardon of sin, assuredly the Word of God is handled deceitfully it is used to deceive men as to their real state, and to cheat them in their everlasting interests. This is sufficiently obvious, and cannot require any lengthened explanation. But a wrong use may be made of the threatenings, as well as of the promises, of Scripture. St. Paul has elsewhere said: "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men": he did not use the terror, the threatenings, merely to agitate or alarm, but to persuade :-he would have handled these threatenings "deceitfully", had he not handled them for the purpose of persuasion. This, however, requires a fuller statement and explanation. Let us give ourselves then, forthwith, to the considering what it is to "handle the Word of God deceitfully", when reference is made to the threatenings of that word: we will then, in the second place, examine the

statement: "By manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God".

Now we wish to point out to you a great, though not uncommon, error-the regarding fear as too base and slavish a thing to be introduced as instrumental to religion. There is many a Christian who is disquieted by the thought, that it is only the dread of punishment which withholds him from sin; whereas he feels that he ought to abhor the sin itself, and not merely hate its consequences. He will say to himself, I should never have left the world, and abandoned its pleasures and pursuits, had I not feared the penalties which continuance would have insured: and can I have found acceptance with God, when I have sought Him only because I feared Him as an avenger, and not because I loved Him as a father? But it is "handling the Word of God deceitfully", when fear is thus represented as unbecoming in a Christian. No doubt,

the love of God ought to be, and will be, the actuating governing principle in the genuine believer. Fear ought gradually to give place to a more generous sentiment: the converted man ought gradually to acquire a distaste for sin, irrespective altogether of its punishment; such a love for God, and such a longing for that holiness in which He delights, that, even were he secured against its penalty, he would eagerly shun the commission of iniquity. But, nevertheless, fear may be instrumental to the bringing a man to repentance; and it ought not to throw suspicion on the genuineness of repentance, that fear has been the agency employed in its production. Whilst one man may be more accessible through a promise, another may be more accessible through a threatening: but there is no reason why the two, though commencing with such different motives, should not arrive at the same renovation of nature, becoming equally believers in Christ, and justifying equally their faith