to listen to men; yet it is not men who speak therein, but God who speaks, by the ministry of men. Let us then listen, with proper dispositions, and we shall find her wisdom and her spirit irresistible. It is thus, and thus only, that "the ignorant can be delivered from the seductions of false teachers, and the learned from the pride and delusion of false wisdom. (*)

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Neither is it any reason for us to be satisfied, because, without diligent inquiry made with the necessary dispositions, we may feel already convinced. They who allow their passions,”—and I will add, their prejudices, " to confound the distinctions between right and wrong, are criminal: they may be convinced, but they have not come honestly by their conviction." They are in that state in which it is to be feared, that the Almighty has sent them the operation of error to believe lying; they are amongst those unbelievers in whom the God of this world hath so blinded their minds, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not

(i) Acts vi. 10.

(*) Though error may be innocent because it may be sincere, yet there can be no sincerity without inquiry, nor any inquiry without a solicitude to discover the truth, and a determination to follow it when discovered.

(1) 2 Thess. ii. 10.

shine unto them.(m) They are suffered to be deceived, because they love deception: they are permitted to be confirmed in error, because they have been unwilling to behold and to embrace the truth. But if we wish to be preserved from such callous hearts and darkened understandings, let us, with the advice of the Apostle, anoint our eyes that we may see(") with sincerity and humility. Let us beseech the God of light to remove from us all blindness of heart: let us not forget that those who think themselves wise, may make themselves fools," by the folly of their own conceits,("› by vanity, pride, or obstinacy: let us fervently pray, that through the mercy of God,...the orient from on high may visit us, may enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and direct their feet in the ways of peace.") As we cannot be too strongly impressed with the necessity of such dispositions, I will again request the reader, in the words of a pious, an excellent and an amiable man, now no more, to bear in mind, "that candour and impartiality, necessary in all discussions, are particularly so where the passions are all engaged on one side; that truth must come from the Father of light; that it behoveth the sincere inquirer to remove the obsta

(m) 2 Cor. iv. 4.

(P) Rom. xii. 16.

(n) Apoc. iii. 18.

(0) Rom. i. 22.

(1) St. Luke, i. 78 79.

cles which the ignorance and the pride of the human mind oppose to it; and, in fine, that only the pure of heart see God, and that into a malicious soul wisdom will not enter, nor dwell in a body subject unto sin."(")

(7) "The great reason, however, which renders men in general unwilling to resign their errors, and seriously investigate the truth, is this:-that truth is rigid and austere, condemning the self-love, and restricting all the bad propensities of the human heart. Hence, our divine Redeemer has told us, that " Men love darkness better than the light." So that when even this great Being inculcated his heavenly doctrines,-although he did it with all the force of the most tender eloquence, yet did the public refuse to believe him. It was so, too, with his apostles. For, when these holy individuals preached, although they also enforced their preaching by the attesta tion of miracles;-still, St. Paul informs us, they "were every where contradicted." The fact is, that to engage men to embrace the truth, or to resign their errors, there is required a spirit of fortitude and piety; a spirit of disinterestedness and humility;-qualities, which, as they are extremely rare in the public walks of life, render it, hence, easy to understand, why falsehood and illusion prevail there so generally. It is, in short, with the understanding, when once it has been seduced by error, as it is with the will, when once it has been corrupted by vice :— exactly as it is difficult, without some peculiar impulse, to reform the latter,-so, without some great cause, it is next to impossible to correct the former. There is, usually, when the attempt is made, some obstacle or other in the

If, in the course of the inquiry, we meet with that which it is impossible to comprehend, and difficult to believe, we must remember that the Almighty has so ordained it for the exercise of our faith; for faith is the evidence of things that appear not. We must equally adore in humility and silence, the revelations of God to man, and the inscrutable counsels of heaven in the government of the world; and we must apply to both, these words of the apostle, O the depth of the riches, of the wisdom, and of the knowledge of God! how incomprehensible are his judgments, and how unsearchable his ways!" If we cannot reduce every thing to the standard of human reason, nor to the narrow comprehension of our capacities, we must recollect that omniscience is an attribute not granted to man; that we see now through a glass, and in a dark manner; but the time will come when we shall see face to face: now we know only in part, but then we shall know even as we are known.") We must be satisfied that every thing is in conformity with the inscrutable decrees of the wisdom of the Deity, because we know we are not to enter into judgment with God, nor call our Creator to account for his con

way, some fear, or interest, or self-love, or perplexity: Vestigia nulla retrorsum."-(Dr. Fletcher's Comparative View.)

(s) Heb. xi. 1.

(Rom. xi. 33. (*) 1 Cor. xiii. 12.

duct towards his creatures. The God of all knowledge has revealed to us enough for the purposes of our salvation, and that is sufficient. His is the province to command, ours to obey; his counsels are righteous and his ways are unsearchable; and it is not for us to question the equity of his providence, nor penetrate the depths of his designs. He has taught us his holy will, and we must perform it with alacrity; not wait to discuss its utility, or question its propriety. Though in revelation there is much beyond reason, yet there is nothing contrary to it. It is only the sophisms of reasoning pride' that would lead us into contradiction and absurdity. Let us not lose ourselves in the intricate mazes of human speculation; but taking a straight-forward path, let us adhere firmly to the sacred laws of truth, of reason, and of revelation of truth undisguised by fashionable error; of reason unbiassed by worldly motives; of revelation unsullied with the infectious breath of pretended reformation.'

In conclusion, let me call upon those who engage in polemic combat, to shake hands upon the field of battle, and to cleanse the venom from their weapons. We extract the sting from controversy, by discarding acrimonious invective and passionate hostility. Freedom of discussion is necessary in the cause of truth; but that freedom must not be suffered to degenerate into licentiousness. As