^ An earnest but pessiuiistic priest was talking to tlie Bishop about the state of his parish, and was specially troubled by the small success of his efforts to help the younger farm-lads lodging at the various homesteads. "For example, my Lord," he said, " there is one lad with whom I had taken much trouble, and I hoped an influence for good was getting a lodgment in the boy's heart. But, imagine my distress when I asked what he had done in the way of preparation for his early Communion at Easter, and all he said was, * I's cleaned my boots, and put 'em under the bed.' It is sad, indeed ! " — " Well, dear friend," replied the Bishop, " and don't you think the angels would rejoice to see them there ? " ^
^ G. W. E. Russoll, Edward King, Bishop of LiTtcoln^ 114.
ST. JOHN VII. 17 311
(2) Many of us are putting second things first. We are seeking to know the mind of the Lord, to disengage His truth, when all the time we are rebels to the truth we know. Now
a neglected duty always pollutes the air like a neglected lamp ; ^ it contributes smoke when it was purposed to contribute light, and the very minister of illumination makes the atmosphere more dense and opaque. In our quest for God and truth we must, therefore, see to it that there are no smoking lamps, and we do this when we firmly set ourselves to do the will we know. There are whole continents of spiritual truth lying back in twilight and ' night, but there is a fringe of revelation in the foreground, glimpses of our Lord's will which leave us in no manner of doubt. Let us begin with the will we know, and through it move on to the unknown. But, when I say " the will we know," I mean all the will we know. We are not to choose a candle here and a candle there, and reject and ignore the rest. We must not pick and choose among the lamps. If we are seeking the land of the morning, we must not despise a single candle which gives its kindly guidance by the way. Wherever we find a clear revelation of our Master's will it is through scrupulous obedience to that will that we must seek the unveiling of the truth that still remains hid.
^ Obey something ; and you will have a chance some day of finding out what is best to obey.^
^ As long as we set up our own will and our own wisdom against God's, we make that wall between us and His love which I have spoken of just now. But as soon as we lay ourselves entirely at His feet, we have enough light given us to guide our own steps ; as the foot-soldier who hears nothing of the councils that determine the course of the great battle he is in, hears plainly enough the word of command which he must himself obey.^
(3) If a man is willing to do the will of God, he will be watchful against the prejudices and prepossessions which would hinder him from knowing that will. He will know the danger which always exists of self-deception, and of confounding strong conviction with sound and solid persuasion. Some men have strong convictions, but they believe a lie, a lie for which, if need be. ^
^ Ruskin, Fors Clavigera. * Mr. Tryan, in Settles of Clerical Life.
312 THE WILL TO KNOW
they are prepared to give up their life. Let us never forget that the firmness with which we hold any principle is no proof of its truthfulness, unless we have verified it in practice. The man whom Christ contemplates is one to whom all light is welcome, come from what quarter it may. It may disturb old convictions ; it may reveal that as true which before seemed to be false ; it may alter the proportions and relations of truths, giving a primary position to some which once held but a secondary, and, on the contrary, reducing to a lower status what once was highest of all. But it is the will of God he is bent on knowing and doing, and this is more than a recompense for all the disturbance which may befall merely inherited opinions. He will feel that there is no interest, either in this world or in any other, compared with that of finding out and fulfilling the will of God. This must be right, this must be best.
\ The difficulty of gaining admission for any truth into the minds of men whose lives are in disconformity with it is pro- verbial. If a man's interests, his present or even his fancied interests, or his pleasures are involved in his continuance in any course of action, we know what a mass of evidence is required to convince him that he is in the wrong. To the makers and sellers of silver shrines there will be no goddess like Diana of the Ephesians. If a craft, however iniquitous, be in danger, we need not be sanguine in our hopes of convincing of its wickedness those who are enriching themselves by its gains. We may be prepared with much evidence of its wrongfulness, but they have profits which overwhelm all our demonstrations. Hence it is that the opinions of men are quite as frequently the product of their practices as their cause ; and the doctrine, while it gives its complexion to the life, as certainly takes its complexion from it. Thieves do not first excogitate evil maxims, and then begin to steal ; they first begin to steal, and then adopt evil maxims ; and as a rule, the worse the man, the worse must be the principles from which he acts; and the better the man, the nobler the principles which animate him.^