churlishly keeps his knowledge to himself though his companions are perishing of thirst. Divine truth is of practical moment. It is not a mere curiosity, to be expose,! or hidden as its owner thinks fit, as though his treatment of it made little difference to other men. When the four lepers of Samaria found the Syrian camp deserted, their first impulse was to pillage it quietly and hide the treasures, keeping the great discovery secret; but wiser thoughts prevailed, and they hastened to acquaint the citizens with their unexpected deliverance (2 Kings vii. 3-11). So every one who has seen the redemption of Christ has no right to keep his knowledge to himself while the world is in sore need of it. The Church is entrusted with the gospel, not for her own enjoy- ment alone, but for the good of the world. The same duty applies also to the posses. sion of darker truths. It is evident, indeed, that a certain liberty and discretion are left with us. It is for us to arrange and present truth as it seems best to us; to gi vc relative prominence to its various parts according to our idea of their importance; to lead men up to the reception of it by degrees. 1t may be that there are trnths which the teacher sees, but which the scholar is not yet fit to receive. If they were declared to him he would not understanJ them, and they would only injure him. A wise teacher will reserve these. ,ve act in this way with children. It may be right some- times to do the same with those who are babes in knowledge. But is not this a viola- tion of the duty of the text? By no means. For: (1) If we are sure the truth will be misunderstood we cannot really tea.eh it; for to tea.eh a. thing is to make another understand and know it, not merely to speak out unintelligible words a.bout it. We are not to cast our pearls before swine, though we are to remember that no human beings are to be regarded as hopelessly and for ever swinish. (2) Truth may be with- holder.. for a time with the object, not of suppressing it, but of the better leading them up to the ripe reception of it. (3) The vision of truth must be distinguished from the mission to declare it. No doubt the one directly leads to the other. Bat they may not be contemporaneous. Questions of method, order, seasonableness, come between. The duty is to diminish nothing of the .prophet's message. II. THE TEMPTATION TO FAIL IN THIS DUTY. 1. Personal fear may tempt a man to "diminish" part of the Divine message. Jeremiah knew that the full utterance of his message would provoke violent opposition. He was warned not to shrink from declaring it on that account. In Christian lands and quiet times we do not feel the same terrible temptation to unfaithfulness. But it comes to us in another form. Thero are ideas which we believe to be truo, but we fear they a.re unpopular; they will excite controversy, they will provoke ridicule, they will lead to neglcci of the preacher. He is tempted to shun these truths that he may swim with the tide of popularity. But he is guilty of gross unfaithfulness if he thus shuns to declare the whole counsel of God. 2. It may appear that men will not receive the message. Of course, as bas been remarked, we must lll!e wisdom and discretion, seeking rather to convince men than to provoke them. But it may even be a duty to declare a truth as a testimony against men. In any case the responsibility for rejecting it will lie with them, as it should. But who can tell whether or no his work will be fruitless? The most unsympathetic hearers have sometimes been reached and alfocted and subdued by the truthlwhich they came to mock or oppose. When tho bow is drawn at a venture it may hit the most unlikely marks. It is certain that more good has been missed by our faithlessness in not" sowing beside all waters" than harm done by our rashness in blurting out truths in unseemly circumstances. 3. Certain truths may seem to be of no practical . use. We are inclined to neglect these for those that are plainly profitable. Now, there can be no doubt that some truths aro of more practical impor- tance than others, and these should naturally receive our more earnest attention. Ilut it is a mistake to neglect any truth on this account. Truth should be loved and taught for its own sake. It is degraded when it is regarded solely from a utilitarian stand- point. It is well that men should be true philosophers-lovers of wisdom. Moreover, it is impossible to tell what will ho the future practical influence of a truth. Some of the most abstruse scientific inventions have led to results of great, though unexpected, human advantage. If research were confined within the limits of the evidently practical, it is certain that many of the most important discovcries-<liscoveries of the greatest use to man-would never bavo been made. Thus, if electricity had not been 11tudied for purely scientific purposes we should never have had the telegraph. We 56G 1'.I:rn BOOK 01<' TllE PllOl'liE'l' JEHE:!lllAll. [cu. XX.\'t. 1-'..! I.
do not know all the c/Tects of Divino trnth. It m:1.y not nITcct others as it does us. It may luwe special effects in the future, not felt as yot. It is om duty to preserve and transmit it to tho ages whcu it may bear most fruit. 4. Somo truths may appear d(tficult and mysterious. Of course, if a trnth is wholly unintclligiblo, it cannot be taught. ,vc arc only uttering words when we try to expound it. Ilut without being unintelligible it may be mysterious, it may be inexplicable; it may come, so to speak, ~ith trails of dark shadows. The temptation is to leave this and only touch what 1s clear throughout. Ilut tho very senso of mystery may be beneficial. So much of the truth as is clear may be mcful. If we are convinced that a thino- is trne, we may accept it without explaining the whole rationale of it. The mystery u~ay grow clearer as we practise what we know of the tmth. In any case the Christian teacher is God's ambassador, commissioned to declare his Master's message entire, unmutilated, whatever opinions /1e may have of the utility of it.