The Book for All:
ITS UNIVERSAL GOOD.
"And the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the Word of God." Acts xiii. 44.
"THEY that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament:" they who have the wisdom of God in a mystery, or the hidden wisdom,—the knowledge not to be found by searching the works of creation, or in the discoveries and developments of science and philosophy. This wisdom cometh from above, and is therefore communicated by the all-wise and eternal Jehovah. This, and this alone, can enlighten man spiritually, invest him with power to comprehend the central and infinite in truth, and lead him to the attainment of those graces and perfections which can alone fit him for the reception of reflected glory, and raise him to a place before the throne of ineffable light and purity.
This wisdom (like its counterpart in the natural world, the sun) casts rays of light, beauty, and restoration very widely. When He, the essence of uncreated light, stood with "the glory He had with the Father" veiled, as the Teacher of men, He uttered a truth so mighty that wherever it is repeated the darkness fleeth away; wherever it is sounded forth with power, be it in the palaces of kings, in the hovels of the poor, or in the deepest recesses of moral corruption, the blackness of the shadow of death which surrounds the immortal soul is dispersed as by the voice of Omnipotence. Jesus said, "I am the Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
The Church militant, the royal priesthood, the ransomed people, is an assemblage of individuals called out of darkness into His marvellous light. This community of the blessed occupies the place of the absent Lord, and has to show forth His glory. As children of the day, they renounce the hidden things of darkness; and as vessels of mercy illuminated by Divine grace, they show forth "the light of the Lord." They of necessity do this by letting men see their good works, by reproving sin, by giving instruction in righteousness, by holy zeal in efforts to increase the kingdom of truth and purity. Possessed themselves of the Word of God, through which and by the Holy Spirit they are being sanctified, they use that same word for purposes of the grace of God which bringeth salvation. The Bible in the hand of the Christian is as the wisdom of God in the hand of Ezra, leading them "to judge;" to give wisdom and prudence "to all such as know the laws of their God, and to teach them that know them not." Hence it is the duty and high privilege of each Christian, be he minister or layman, ordained or unordained, to communicate precious truths, to teach from the Holy Scriptures which are able to make wise unto salvation, through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.
We have a conviction that the individual members of the Church have not yet risen to the dignity of every man saying to his neighbour, "Know the Lord." This witnessing for God is not a professional matter, but a religious duty. Masses of people in our great cities perish for lack of knowledge, while many partakers of precious faith are content to live without an effort to add one immortal spirit more to the ransomed from the earth. They, alas! are many who are under the "woe" pronounced against those "who live at ease in Zion." There are no laity in the theocracy of grace. All are priests. And they who have heard the call of Divine compassion, and feel themselves sheltered in the covenant of love, are commanded to say "Come," or for ever bear the reproach of being unfaithful servants. This standing back from the great conflict, this looking on instead of joining in the holy strife, is a reproach to the royal people, an injury to our neighbour, and a withholding of blessing from this sin-stricken world. There is work for all in the great vineyard, and opportunities for usefulness are ever occurring. It is not those only who dwell in squalor that require the Gospel: the respectable mechanics, the trading and professional classes; yes, and the educated, and the noble, and the princes of the earth: all who have not passed into the kingdom of grace need the same truth, the same restoring and elevating force. While, therefore, it is right to send the Gospel of the grace of God to the lower orders, this does not exonerate from the duty of influencing the other classes to the acceptance of truth and the practice of holiness. The necessities of the world require that every Christian should carry a pocket Bible, and study how to use it well. Then would the kingdom of God come with power.
There can be no doubt that the practical infidelity and viciousness of the classes immediately and very much above them has a most injurious effect upon the lower orders of society. The wealth of the rich is often used to the demoralization of the poor, while skilled workmen are the chief propagators of scepticism among them. Those, therefore, who give themselves to the labour and care of uplifting the very low, have a deep interest in the religious elevation of the more refined and educated, as the classes act with marvellous effect upon each other. These considerations must be our excuse for devoting this last chapter to narratives of like Christian work among the more advanced in the social scale. As infidelity is so terrible a foe, we commence with two instances of recovery from its destructive influence.
One evening the visitor had occasion to call at a public institution, and stopped in the lobby to examine a microscope and set of lenses. The optician showed him a telescope by which he said stars at a great distance could be seen and particulars accurately defined. In answer to the inquiry, "If those distinguished by the appellation 'telescopic stars,' and ranging from the seventh magnitude upwards could be seen by it," he gave a very clever answer, which led to a long and pleasant conversation. At parting, the visitor observed "that there was an instrument now much in use by the 'wise,' of higher range, and called by the name of 'faith,'—a gift of God, a power by which Christians could look through the clouds, beyond the nebulæ, even to the place where Jesus is seated at the right hand of God."
The optician shook his head, and said that "he believed in all that was true in creation, in all that could be demonstrated; but that his credulity stopped at the uncertain."