it ; and another, by strengthening the organs of vision to behold it. Now, without entering into a minute consideration of all these particulars, we may observe, in general, that God's methods of instructing us by his Spirit are somewhat analogous to these; in that he brings home with power to our souls the truths which we hear, and inclines our hearts to embrace them. The tele- scope, which brings distant objects to our view, and the micro- scope, which enables us to discern things which are too small to be seen by the naked eye, make no difference whatever either in the objects themselves or in the organs whereby we perceive them: the things themselves, and our faculties also, all remain the same, whether the instruments be used by us or not. So there is no difference in the truths which are heard by different persons, or in the capacity of those by whom they are perceived: the difference is in the manner in which the truths are presented to the mind : and if we, by instruments of human contrivance, are able thus to bring to the sight of men things that are in- visible to the naked eye, we may well suppose that God is able to bring home to the souls of men truths which the unassisted mind is unable to apprehend. But I think we may get a juster view of this, by considering how it is that the imperfections of our sight are remedied in common life. When we have an in- distinct vision of objects before us, it is for the most part owing to this : through an excess or defect of convexity in our eye, the object before us either falls short of the retina, or goes beyond it : and the use of glasses is, by a suitable medium to bring the object on the retina, that so it may be distinctly impressed thereon, in all its just symmetry and proportions. Now the Spirit of God, by giving to us " an honest and a good heart," imprints upon the tablet of our souls the truths, of which, without his aid, we could have no just perception: and thus we are enabled to understand what others are not able to discern. And thus is fulfilled what St. John has said: " The spiritual man judgeth all things ; yet he himself is judged of no man : for who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him ? But we have the mind of Christ," and therefore are qualified to judge both ourselves and others^. Now, I the rather dwell on this, in order to remove from the minds of objectors the idea that we lay claim to any thing like miracu- lous inspiration. We do indeed say, that God alone can enable us to discern the things of the Spirit^; but we say, also, that he does this through the use of our own faculties, under the direction and influence of his good Spirit : and thus " he reveals to babes and sucklings the things which he has hid from the wise and prudent^."]
f 1 Cor. ii. 1,), IG. s l Cor. ii. 12.
'' Matt. xi. 25.