The gospel of law ; a series of discourses upon fundamental church doctrines

Preface

The principal reason for a preface to this volume is in order to show the causes of its publication. The introduction and the first discourses of the series in this book were delivered to the audience that I address regularly on Sunday, without any expectation that they would ever be published in a volume. Before the course was completed, however, a local demand came for their publication. Indeed, immediately after their delivery, three of the discourses — the two on " The Bible " and the one on " Morality " — were printed by others in a pamphlet form, and had a large local and provincial circulation. This volume is printed primarily, therefore, to satisfy a demand for this kind of thought in the city and State in which the discourses were originally given, and this will be the excuse for leaving them in the personal form in wliich they were delivered.

The principal motive in the book is to apply the facts of science to inherited doctrines, and then to give a positive basis of belief and conduct in consis-

THE GOSPEL OF LAW.

tency with these facts, to interpret the results of the authorities, and bring them into a practical form and conclusion. History and criticism and science cannot be created by a teacher of the people ; but it is his province to use his reason in bringing their results and application. It would be only pedantic to refer in detail to authorities for the positions taken. Of course, no thoughtful man would dare to use as a basis for an argument anything but well-proved facts. There are differences of opinion even among scholars on many important questions, but no essential argument in this volume is based on anything that is not absolutely proved. Where there is any uncertainty, it is candidly stated. The book has been called by the name of the title-page, not only because the last discourse in the series properly bears that name, but because the attempt is made to test every subject positively by the scientific principle of universal law. Whatever gospel or "good news" there is grows out of natural law.

Three sermons originally in the series — those on " Conversion," "Faith," and "The Church"— have been omitted from this volume, in order to bring it into reasonable size ; but no vital loss is thereby incurred.

It may seem to some that, even if true, some things

PREFACE. 5

I have said had been better left unsaid. I cannot reply more appropriately than in the words of Emerson : " Nor do I fear scepticism for any good soul. . . . I dip my pen in the blackest ink, because I am not afraid of falling into my ink-pot. ... I see not why we should give ourselves such sanctified airs. If the Divine Providence has hid from men neither disease nor deformity, nor corrupt society, ... let us not be so nice that we cannot write down these facts coarsely as they stand, or doubt but there is a counter-statement as ponderous, which we can arrive at, and which, being put, will make all square."

Bangor, Me., March 1, 1882.

By accumulated experiences, the man of science acquires a thorough belief in the unchanging relations of phenomena, in the invariable connection of cause and consequence, in the necessity of good or evil results. Instead of the rewards and punishments of traditional belief, which men vaguely hope they may gain, or escape, spite of their disobedience, he finds that there are rewards and punishments in the ordained constitution of things, and that the evil results of disobedience are inevitable. He sees that the laws to which we must submit are not only inexorable, but beneficent. . . . Hence, he is led constantly to insist on these laws, and is indignant when men disregard them. And thus does he, by asserting the eternal principles of things and the necessity of conforming to them, prove himself intrinsically religious. — Herbert Spencer.

For it lies in the nature of progress that the heresy or new knowledge of yesterday is the orthodoxy or old knowledge of to-day; and that, to those who have learned to associate their aspirations with the old knowledge, it may well seem impossible that like aspirations should be associated with the new. But the experience of many ages of speculative revolution has shown that, while Knowledge grows and old beliefs fall away and creed succeeds to creed, nevertheless that Faith which makes the innermost essence of religion is indestructible. — John Fiskc.

Out from the heart of nature rolled

The burdens of the Bible old :

The litanies of nations came,

Like the volcano's tongue of flame,

Up from the burning core below, —

The canticles of love and woe. Emerson.

O gods dethroned and deceased, cast forth, wiped out in a day! From your wrath is the world released, redeemed from your

chains, men say.

New gods are crowned in the city, their flowers have broken your

rods: They are merciful, clothed with pity, the young compassionate

gods. Swinburne.

And, for success, I ask no more than this, —

To bear unflinching witness to the truth.

All true, whole men succeed; for what is worth

Success's name, unless it be the thought,

The inward surety, to have carried out

A noble purpose to a noble end,

Although it be the gallows or the block ? . . .

Get but the truth once uttered, and 'tis like

A star new-born, that drops into its place,

And which, once circling in its placid round,

Not all the tumult of the earth can shake. Lowell.

Contents

PAGE

I. Introduction, 11

II. The Bible : The Old Testament, 17