^ J. G. Henderson.
I THESSALONIANS v. 21 39
fashion, or diseases of vanity : it cannot be cramped in its conclu- sions by partialities and hypocrisies ; its visions and its delights are too penetrating, too living, for any whitewashed object or shallow fountain long to endure or supply. It clasps all that it loves so hard that it crushes it if it be hollow.^
III.
Hold Fast that which is Good.
1. The command addressed by St. Paul to the Thessalonians describes with incisive brevity the only kind of criticism that is right in principle and likely to be fruitful in results. It is the criticism, first, which claims, not to discover, but to " test " all things — taking the thing criticized as it actually presents itself, and not reconstructing it out of our own discovery or imagination. It is the criticism, next, which, until it is forced to an opposite conclusion, holds (with Eichard Hooker) that whatever has spiritual life and power in it cannot be " wholly compacted of untruths," but must have in it something " which is good," and which it is therefore worth while "to hold fast." It is, moreover and above all, the criticism which performs its two functions simultaneously, not waiting in suspense till the whole conceivable work of testing is over, before it proceeds to grasp anything firmly, but at every point laying strong and enthusiastic hold of whatever, so far, it has found by trial to be good, living in it by strong sympathy, and making this experience of its inner meaning a means of advancing towards larger knowledge.
^ It is interesting to observe the various shades of meaning in which the Apostle uses the word doxi/idlsiv, which he here employs. There are passages, like the present, where the sense is general. But there are others where it clearly implies, not the exercise of the critical faculty, but the appreciative acceptance of what is manifestly good and true, as when he exhorts the Philippians to approve the things that are excellent, and the Eomans to prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.^
^ Ruskiu, Modem Painters, pt. iii. sec. 1, chap. iii. ( Works, iv. 58). ' Archbishop Maclagan.
40 PROVING AND HOLDING FAST
2. So we are not only to prove all things ; we are bidden to " hold fast that which is good " ; to be faithful to whatever has proved itself to us as worthy of love and reverence. The value of every discovery or invention consists largely in its power to satisfy some human want. The great test is experience of its results. May we not apply the same test to religious truth ? If we have felt a craving to be delivered from sin, and to be made partakers of light and holiness ; to be drawn nearer to God and to be lifted above ourselves; to know something of human destiny, and to obtain more worthy views of the world, and a deeper insight into moral truth, then let us ask, Does Christianity meet any or all of these requirements ? If, in our assurance that God is love, and that we, though weak and ignorant and sinful, are His children, we feel convinced that God has spoken to us, and that His Word is in His own Gospel ; if we have believed in His promises, and tasted the blessings of forgiven sin, and the peace which the toil and the changes of the world cannot reach ; if we have attained higher views of holiness and truth — are not these things good, and shall we not hold them fast ? These are sufficient for our life ; and as for others, we must maintain towards them an attitude, not indeed of indiffer- ence, but of bold and ceaseless endeavour, proving all things, and holding fast that which is good.
When the anchors faith has cast are dragging in the gale, 1 am quietly holding fast to the things that cannot fail. 1 know that right is right, that it is not good to lie; That love is better than spite, and a neighbour than a spy; In the darkest night of the year, when the stars have all
gone out. That courage is better than fear, and faith is better than doubt; And fierce though the fiends may fight, and long though the
angels hide, I know that truth and right have the universe on their side. And that somewhere beyond the stars is a love that is better
than fate ; When the night unlocks her doors I shall see Him, and I can
wait.
3. Happily for us, the great truths which should guide our judgment are just those which cannot escape our observation.
I THESSALONIANS v. 21 41
The distinction between good and evil is written upon our conscience in characters which nothing can altogether efface The love of God beams in the sunshine, is . poured forth in the refreshing shower, reveals itself in all the wondrous glory and beauty of the world. History reveals one human life in which Divinity shines out in all the radiance of perfect love, and purity, and Divine self-sacrifice. The condemnation of sin and the way of deliverance for the sinner were manifested in the death upon the cross. Thus, grasping with a perfect faith the great elements of good, we are able to look accurately at the difficulties which beset us, and prepare ourselves boldly for the journey or the fight. ^ Christianity has abler advocates than its professed defenders, in those quiet and humble men and women who in the light of it and the strength of it live holy, beautiful, and self-denying lives. The God that answers by fire is the God whom mankind will acknowledge; and so long as the fruits of the Spirit continue to be visible in charity, in self-sacrifice, in those graces which raise human creatures above themselves, thoughtful persons will remain convinced that with them in some form or other is the secret of truth.^