» W. J. Townsend, The Ladder of Life, 256.
PROVERBS IV. i8, 19 231
at the end of every minute of his existence. The absolute justice of the system of things is as clear to me as any scientific fact. The gravitation of sin to sorrow is as certain as that of the earth to the sun, and more so — for experimental proof of the fact is within reach of us all — nay, is before us all in our own lives, if we had but eyes to see it." ^
3. The way of sin as it ends. — The sinner has no prospect of light beyond. There are no Beulah heights for him at the farther end of the gloomy valley. His night of sin will be followed by no dawn of blessed light. He presses on only to deeper and yet deeper darkness. If he will not return, there is nothing before him but the darkness of death. The one way of escape is back- wards— to retrace his steps in humble penitence. Then, indeed, he may see the welcome light of his Father's home, and even earlier the Light of the world, the Saviour who has come out into the darkness to lead him back to God. For the sinner who persists in his evil course there can be no better prospect than that described by Byron in his poem on " Darkness " —
The world was void. The populous and the powerful was a lump, Seasonless, herbless, treeless, manless, lifeless, A lump of death — a chaos of hard clay. The rivers, lakes, and ocean all stood still. And nothing stirr'd within their silent depths; Ships sailorless lay rotting on the sea, And their masts fell down piecemeal: as they dropp'd They slept on the abyss without a surge — The waves were dead; the tides were in their grave, The moon, their mistress, had expired before; The winds were wither'd in the stagnant air, And the clouds perish'd; Darkness had no need Of aid from them — She was the Universe.
^ The death of Lord Pembroke, whose character and aims Spencer estimated very highly, removed one more from the ever narrowing circle of his friends and acquaintances. To the Countess of Pembroke he wrote on 26th June 1895 : " On the great questions you raise I should like to comment at some length had I the energy to spare. The hope that continual groping, though in the dark, may eventually discover the clue is one I can
1 Life of T. H. Huxley, by his Son, i. 220.
232 THE TWO PATHS
scarcely entertain, for the reason that human intelligence appears to me incapable of framing any conception of the required kind. It seems to me that our best course is to submit to the limita- tions imposed by the nature of our minds, and to live as con- tentedly as we may in ignorance of that which lies behind things as we know them. My own feeling respecting the ultimate mystery is such that of late years I cannot even try to think of infinite space without some feeling of terror, so that I habitually shun the thought."*
II.
The Shining Way.
" The path of the rigfhteous is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day."
1. The " path of the righteous " has all the great characteristics suggested by light, namely, truth, purity, joy, life. Perhaps the leading idea is that of holy gladness. In Scripture the favourite emblem of heaven and the heavenly, of God and the godly, is light, — of the evil power and the evil place, darkness ; and none could be more striking and expressive. It is expressive of all the phenomena of the two contrasted worlds, alike in their nature, in their origin, and in their consequences. And light, as symbolical of the good, speaks to us of enlightenment of the understanding, the purity of holiness, and true happiness, even as darkness speaks to us of the opposites. Light means wisdom and holiness; and thus the Apostle Paul, writing to the Ephesians, uses it: "Ye were sometimes darkness " (i.e. foolish and unholy), " but now are ye light in the Lord " : your ignorance, that is to say, has been dispelled by the knowledge in Christ of the Holy God and recon- ciled Father. " Walk as children of light " ; act, that is, in accordance with those principles of heavenly wisdom wherewith your darkened understanding has been enlightened, and shine in the bright purity of holiness. The just man, then, is a child of light, first of all, because through Divine grace he has been endued with wisdom, and has the seeds of holiness implanted within him.
^ The message of Fox was to make men realize that individual inspiration was not a thing of the past, and that true assurance
* D. Duncan, The Lift and Letters of Herbert Spencer, 370.
PROVERBS IV. ig, 19 233
and guidance were open to every man who would follow the in- ward illumination. Attention to this inner .light resulted in the discovery of sin and of the overcoming life in Christ. "Every one of you hath a light from Christ which lets you see you should not lie, nor do wrong to any nor swear nor curse nor take God's name in vain, nor steal. It is the light that shows you these evil deeds : which, if you love and come unto it and follow it, will lead you to Christ who is the way to the Father, from whom it comes : where no unrighteousness enters nor ungodliness. If you hate this light it will be your condemnation : but if you love it and come to it, you will come to Christ." The important thing for men to realize is that they have the witness of God in their own hearts against moral evils. It is not any outward code, scriptural or social, which reveals sin as sin, but the light of God in the conscience. If men would humbly and patiently wait upon God, the path of obedience would be made plain and the power to obey be abundantly bestowed.^