worshipped as Lord by those who receive the gospel.— Thus much concerning the rule.

"As Christians are rightly said 'to walk in Christ,' because they regulate both their faith and their life by the rule prescribed by him; so the monks walk in the respective founders of their sects, who seek perfection in the rule invented by them.

"Since Christ is the only way to heaven, he who aims at heaven out of Christ wanders about blind and miserable, and will never arrive thither.

"He who thinks he can walk in Christ by a solitary faith, attempts to walk with one foot, which is impossible. 'To walk in Christ' is to proceed as well in holiness as faith; for the Spirit of Christ stirs up to both or neither.

"The life of a Christian man is in constant motion. He departs from sin and the world, and advances, in holiness of life and towards the heavenly state, by Christ as by the way, faith and love inclining him to this new motion as inherent qualities, but impelled and directed by the Spirit of Christ."

The apostle's prayer is, that they may not only be Christians, but great Christians. In other words, the apostle is not satisfied, even as the Master is not satisfied, that we should be simply assured of our personal safety, but that we should rejoice, that we should have no more doubts or difficulties about our destiny, but go on from strength to strength, from grace to grace, rejoicing in hope of glory.

"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy." The apostle does not mean to condemn the study or cultivation of human science: what is called the philosophy of the mind, or metaphysics, is a most valuable

and instructive science; so the philosophy of nature, or natural philosophy, is most useful. Nothing, external to the Bible, is more interesting to a Christian than to study and to comprehend that exquisite and subtile mechanism, that beautiful organization, the human mind; and, next to that, nothing can be more instructive to a Christian than to understand what are called the laws, and links, and bonds, and harmonies of this natural world in which we live. The apostle, therefore, does not here condemn true science, or true philosophy, but that false philosophy which proposes to intrude into Christianity, and supersede or modify the simple revelation of the mind of God and the way of salvation. Keep philosophy, and science, and literature outside, resting on their own foundations; but do not say— what the apostle means—that this text cannot be true because Socrates says this; or this chapter must be false because Sir Isaac Newton has said something else; or the account of the Creation in the Mosaic record cannot be true, because of the discoveries of modern geology. Never bring these two things into conflict. The Bible is the perfected revelation that has come from Heaven, therefore it must be true; the discoveries of geology are progressive—the blunders of yesterday are corrected by the conclusions of to-day : therefore let us wait, and geology, when it gets more light, will mingle its light with the light of Genesis, and both true science and God's Word shall be seen to be one.

When it was discovered that the body of the earth is hundreds of thousands of years old—and it is a discovery that cannot be gainsayed-for we see in the stony places of the earth evidences the most irresistible that this earth has been in different stages; in fact, it

has been for many thousand years cooling down; at this moment the earth is more than 50 degrees, by Fahrenheit's thermometer, hotter than the surrounding space; and we can trace it back to a period when the granite itself was in a melted state, when all seems to have been in a condition of intense heat, in which no animated creature could live. When these disclosures were first made, it was said that this disproved the Mosaic record, and that the account of the creation given in the first chapter of Genesis could not be true. We see also that the stars could not have been made after the present configuration of the earth; we know that the light of some stars has only reached us a year or two ago, and that this light has been travelling a hundred thousand years; and we can demonstrate as plainly that these orbs existed a hundred thousand years ago as we can demonstrate now that the sun shines. But when it was said that all this contradicted the Mosaic account, the answer given was complete: the first two verses of Genesis evidently refer to a state long prior to our creation. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void"—literally, emptiness and desolation, the wreck of a previous state-" and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light;" there was evidently a state of things. long existent before, indicated by Moses, and proved by science. At length we find that those who are most thoroughly convinced of the truths of geology are equally convinced of the inspiration of the Bible; and that theology has come up to it, it has never gone down to geology. Let no man therefore spoil you; do

and instructive science; so the philosophy of nature, or natural philosophy, is most useful. Nothing, external to the Bible, is more interesting to a Christian than to study and to comprehend that exquisite and subtile mechanism, that beautiful organization, the human mind; and, next to that, nothing can be more instructive to a Christian than to understand what are called the laws, and links, and bonds, and harmonies of this natural world in which we live. The apostle, therefore, does not here condemn true science, or true philosophy, but that false philosophy which proposes to intrude into Christianity, and supersede or modify the simple revelation of the mind of God and the way of salvation. Keep philosophy, and science, and literature outside, resting on their own foundations; but do not saywhat the apostle means—that this text cannot be true because Socrates says this; or this chapter must be false because Sir Isaac Newton has said something else; or the account of the Creation in the Mosaic record cannot be true, because of the discoveries of modern geology. Never bring these two things into conflict. The Bible is the perfected revelation that has come from Heaven, therefore it must be true; the discoveries of geology are progressive—the blunders of yesterday are corrected by the conclusions of to-day: therefore let us wait, and geology, when it gets more light, will mingle its light with the light of Genesis, and both true science and God's Word shall be seen to be one.

When it was discovered that the body of the earth is hundreds of thousands of years old-and it is a discovery that cannot be gainsayed-for we see in the stony places of the earth evidences the most irresistible that this earth has been in different stages; in fact, it

has been for many thousand years cooling down; at this moment the earth is more than 50 degrees, by Fahrenheit's thermometer, hotter than the surrounding space; and we can trace it back to a period when the granite itself was in a melted state, when all seems to have been in a condition of intense heat, in which no animated creature could live. When these disclosures were first made, it was said that this disproved the Mosaic record, and that the account of the creation given in the first chapter of Genesis could not be true. We see also that the stars could not have been made after the present configuration of the earth; we know that the light of some stars has only reached us a year or two ago, and that this light has been travelling a hundred thousand years; and we can demonstrate as plainly that these orbs existed a hundred thousand years ago as we can demonstrate now that the sun shines. But when it was said that all this contradicted the Mosaic account, the answer given was complete: the first two verses of Genesis evidently refer to a state long prior to our creation.

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void"-literally, emptiness and desolation, the wreck of a previous state-" and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God. moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light;" there was evidently a state of things long existent before, indicated by Moses, and proved by science. At length we find that those who are most thoroughly convinced of the truths of geology are equally convinced of the inspiration of the Bible; and that theology has come up to it, it has never gone down to geology. Let no man therefore spoil you; do