Use and

abuse of

struction.

the Sacred Books themselves, will naturally be preferred by the learner. And all study, properly so called, of the rest of Scripture,-(for on the above supposition, such a comment would be itself a part of Scripture, infallible and divinely inspired, as much as the rest)-all lively interest in the perusal,—would be nearly superseded by such an inspired compendium of doctrine; to which alone, as being far the most convenient for that purpose, habitual reference would be made in any question that might arise. Both would be regarded, indeed, as of divine authority; but the compendium, as the fused and purified metal; the other, as the mine, containing the crude ore.

§ 27. The uses are so important, and the human in- abuses so dangerous, of the instruction which may be afforded by uninspired Christian teachers, that it may be worth while still further to illustrate the subject by an analogy, homely perhaps and undignified, but which appears to me perfectly apposite, and fitted by its very familiarity to answer the better its purpose of affording explanation.

The utility of what is called paper-currency is universally acknowledged and perceived. Without possessing any intrinsic value, it is a convenient representative of coins and ingots

of the precious metals. And it possesses this character, from its being known or confidently believed, that those who issue it are ready, on demand, to exchange it for those precious metals. And the occurrence, from time to time, of this demand, and the constant liability to it, are the great check to an over-issue of the papermoney. But if paper-money be made a legal tender, and not convertible into gold and silver at the pleasure of the holder,—if persons are required to receive it in payment, by an arbitrary decree of the Government, either that paper shall be considered as having an intrinsic value, or again, that it shall be considered as representing bullion, or land," or some other intrinsically valuable commodity, the existence and amount of which, and the ability of Government to produce it, are to be believed, not by the test of any one's demanding and obtaining payment, but on the word of the very Government that issues this inconvertible paper-currency, then, the consequences which ensue are well known. The precious metals gradually disappear, and a profusion of worthless paper alone

remains.

Even so it is with human teaching in religion. Scripture It is highly useful, as long as the instructors produced

"This was the case with the Assignats and Mandats of France.

proof to be

on demand.

refer the People to Scripture, exhorting and assisting them to " prove all things and hold fast that which is right;"-as long as the Church "ordains nothing contrary to God's word,”— nothing, in short, beyond what a Christian Community is authorized both by the essential character of a Community, and by Christ's sanction, to enact; and requires nothing to be believed as a point of Christian faith "that may not be declared "* (i. e. satisfactorily proved) to be taken from Holy Scripture. But when a Church, or any of its Pastors, ceases to make this payment on demand-if I may so speak-of Scriptureproof, and requires implicit faith, on human authority, in human dogmas or interpretations, all check is removed to the introduction of any conceivable amount of falsehood and superstition; till human inventions may have overlaid and disfigured Gospel-truth, and Man's usurped authority have gradually superseded divine: even as was the case with the rabbinical Jews, who continued to profess the most devout reverence for the Mosaic Law, even at the time when

* The word "declared" is likely to mislead the English reader, from its being ordinarily used in the present day in a different sense. The Latin" declarare," of which it was evidently intended to be a translation, signifies "to make clear""to set forth plainly."

See Appendix, Note (M.)

we are told that "in vain they worshipped God, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."z

Reserve.

§ 28. It is worth remarking also that the System of persons who make this use of Tradition, are often found distinctly advocating the deliberate suppression, in the instruction of the great mass of Christians, of a large portion of the Gospeldoctrines which are the most earnestly set forth in Scripture; as a sort of esoteric mystery, of which ordinary believers are unworthy, and which should be "reserved" as a reward for a long course of pious submission. This system of "reserve" or "economy" is vindicated, by studiously confounding it with the gradual initiation of Christians in the knowledge of their religion, in proportion as they are "able to bear it;" i. e. able and willing to understand each point that is presented to their minds and the necessity of gradual teaching,-of reading the first line of a passage before the second,—and the care requisite to avoid teaching any thing, which though true in itself, would be falsely understood by the hearers, is thus confounded with the system of withholding a portion of Gospeltruth from those able and willing to receive it ;the system of "shunning to set before men all

Suppression of Gospeltruths may

falsifica

tion.

the counsel of God," and of having one kind of religion for the initiated few, and another for the mass of the Christian World. Very different was the Apostle Paul's Gospel, which he assures us, "if it was hid, was hid from them that are lost" (men on the road to destruction, ảπo^^vμévovs), "whom the god of this world hath blinded."

But the charge of teaching something different from what they inwardly believe, the advocates amount to of this system repel, by alleging that all they do teach is agreeable to Scripture, although they withhold a part, and do not teach all that is to be found in Scripture: as if this did not as effectually constitute two different religions as if they had added on something of their own. For, by expunging or suppressing at pleasure, that which remains may become totally different from what the religion would have been if exhibited as a whole.

It has been remarked that every statue existed in the block of marble from which it was carved; and that the Sculptor merely discloses it, by removing the superfluous portions;—that the Medicean Venus, for instance, has not in it a single particle which did not originally exist exactly in the same relative position as now; the artist having added nothing, but merely taken away. Yet the statue is as widely different