began to take root," they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord; they would none of his counsel; they despised all his reproofs; therefore he gave them to eat of their own way, and he filled them with their own devices."* This is Solomon's account of the matter; let us hear Paul's :-" And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient: being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: who, knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." This, my Lord, according to the Scriptures of truth, is the sole cause of the crime and 'misery of mankind; and the cure is set forth as clearly as the complaint. The uniform declaration of the Old Testament is, that the mighty moral revolution which awaits our world, is to be effected entirely by "the knowledge of God." The Jewish writers unitedly testify that "the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." + One of the greatest prophets, predicting the rise of the kingdom of Christ, thus foretells the spread of this knowledge :—' "After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, KNOW THE LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of *Prov. i. 29-31. Habak. ii. 14. P them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.' " I consider, my Lord, that I have sufficiently established the proposition that, according to the Jewish writers, the great instrument of the world's renovation is" the knowledge of God," as he is revealed in their Scriptures, the knowledge, not of his works, but of Himself. The inferences from this doctrine are as obvious as they are important. If this be according to truth, the views of your lordship require correction. They are such as leave man ignorant of that which it most concerns him to know. Let us next inquire by what means this knowledge is to be diffused; and here the question is not, how it might be done, but, What is the prophetic representation? The business of diffusion was not to commence till after the age of the prophets, so that, for personal purposes, they required neither instruction nor direction; yet they have left a most explicit testimony to the work of MISSIONS. Hear Daniel :-" And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.† The principle of Missions is clearly stated in these words. The eternal well-being of all nations will depend upon that knowledge; and its principles will be spread to the ends of the earth wholly through the instrumentality of man. While, therefore, the ignorant sneer at the Missionary, and deem "his way madness, and his end without honour," persons of sense and of piety will consider him the most deserving of man kind. Let us now, my Lord, search the New Testament * Jer. xxxi. 33, 34. ↑ Dan. xii. 3, 4. that we may see in what light it represents "the knowledge of God" and the Missionary character. It will be material to inquire whether the apostolic writers concur with the prophets. Now, investigation will show, that, between these two classes of sacred authors, there is the most perfect harmony. With the Apostles, "the knowledge of God" is every thing; they exhibit it to the reader's mind in all possible lights. Christ himself laid down the doctrine in these words-" This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."* This simple expression discloses the grand secret. In these words it is clearly set forth that "eternal life," whatever it may be, consists in the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ, and hence, whosoever has the knowledge has also the life. An attempt somewhat to open up this point, will be met by the mere philosopher with derision; he will charge with mysticism statements, in support of which unimpeachable witnesses can be produced by the million; but this shall neither prevent nor in the least disconcert me. The Scriptures themselves prepare the Christian to look for such things; they assert that "the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness;"+ that "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."‡ The knowledge in question differs much from that of the mere philosopher. It is connected both with a pain and with a pleasure which philosophy can never produce. In your lordship's system, God is presented to us simply as the "Great Architect of Nature," and hence your views have nothing moral in them; they excite surprise and gratify curiosity without in the least offending pride or alarming conscience; and hence * John xvii. 3. 1 Cor. ii. 14. + 1 Cor. i. 18. the delight which they administer even to ungodly men. It is much otherwise with the knowledge of which I speak; for it comprises the whole character of God, with especial relation to his justice and holiness. Discoveries respecting these attributes are far from pleasing to man; they have often made the stoutest heart to tremble! The light by which man discovers the character of God is always reflected upon himself, and thus it leads him to the discovery of his own. The holiness of the Divine character, when first clearly perceived, is a source only of terror to a mind conscious of guilt. He sees nothing in God that resembles himself, nothing in God's law that approves his character. He realizes the depth of his depravity, the extent and aggravation of his guilt. On reading the words, "The soul that sins shall die," his heart sinks within him. He feels that he is a dead man! He distinctly perceives the awful condition of the world. With regard to the whole human race, he is fully convinced “that they are all under sin; as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness : their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways: and the way of peace have they not known there is no fear of God before their eyes.' "The knowledge of the Lord" thus far, is a thing which deeply disquiets the soul of man; but, happily, this is only one portion of the discoveries which the Scriptures make concerning the Most High God. While he is holy and just, he is also full of mercy! : : Rom. iii. 9-18. The consideration of this glorious attribute leads us at once to the Saviour, who thus himself illumines the subject:-" God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."* This exhibits the Divine character in a light altogether new. To him whose soul is enlightened by the Spirit of God, there is an unutterable power in these words, which relieves despair, soothes distress, inspires hope, slays enmity, and begets love. He now discovers the necessity of the atonement; he sees Jesus dying "the just for the unjust, that he may bring men to God;" he beholds him suffering on the Cross, thereby "magnifying the law and making it honourable,” in order "that God might be just and yet the justifier of the ungodly."+ He sees in the atonement made by the death of Messiah, not the condition, not the price of the Divine love, but the fruit, the effect, the expression of it. The love preceded the death, did not follow it as a purchased blessing. "God so loved the world, that he gave his Son." He gave his Son because he loved the world. The entire scheme of mercy, with all its provisions, flows from the Divine compassion. Mercy is an element of the Divine nature, but so also is justice; and mercy cannot be exercised at the expense of justice. Jesus died that he might remove the obstructions arising from justice to the exercise of mercy. Pardon is bestowed in the manner best suited to melt the hardness, to conciliate the enmity, to excite the love, and to win the confidence of man. My Lord, the death of Christ is a mysterious and awful theme! It equally illustrates the compassion of God towards his sinning creatures and his displeasure *John iii. 16, 17. † Rom. iii. 26. |