%. 
 
 -^'VJ 
 
 v<^7:^> ^^ 
 
 V] 
 
 <^ 
 
 /} 
 
 "-l 
 
 a 
 
 °% ;> 
 
 
 CM 0% 
 
 
 /A 
 
 IMAGE EVALUAT30N 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 1.0 
 
 I.I 
 
 »- IIIIIM 
 
 |5 = 
 
 «" IM 
 If ilM 
 If i^ 
 
 1.25 
 
 1.4 
 
 IIIM 
 
 122 
 
 1.6 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sciences 
 Corporation 
 
 // 
 
 // 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 / 
 
 ^ 
 
 f/i 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^/^ 
 
 ,\ 
 
 iV 
 
 (/. 
 
 % 
 
 •1. 
 
 SJ 
 
 :\ 
 
 \ 
 
 ^9) 
 
 V 
 
 ,-'' '* 
 
 %\ '^o" 
 
 23 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, NY. MS80 
 
 (716) 872-4503 
 
 
A 
 
 
 
 CIHM/ICMH 
 
 Microfiche 
 
 Series. 
 
 CIHM/iCMH 
 Collection de 
 microfiches. 
 
 Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproujctions / Institut canadien de microreproductions historiques 
 
Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques 
 
 The Institute has attempted to obtain the best 
 original copy available for filming. Features of this 
 copy which may be bibliographically unique, 
 which may alter any of the images in the 
 reproduction, or which -nay significantly change 
 the usual method of filming, are checked below. 
 
 y 
 
 D 
 D 
 D 
 
 n 
 □ 
 
 a 
 
 Coloured covers/ 
 Couvarture de couleur 
 
 Covers damaged/ 
 Ccuverturo endommag^e 
 
 Covers restored and/or laminated/ 
 Couverture restaur^e et/ou pellicul^e 
 
 Cover title missing/ 
 
 Le titre de couverture manque 
 
 Coloured maps/ 
 
 Cartes gdographiques en couleur 
 
 Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ 
 Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) 
 
 Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ 
 Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur 
 
 Bound with other material/ 
 Relid avac d'autres documents 
 
 Tight binding may causa shadows or distortion 
 along interior margin/ 
 
 Lareliure serree peut causer de I'ombre ou de la 
 distorsion le long de la marge interieure 
 
 Blank leaves added during restoration may 
 appear within the text. Whenever possible, these 
 have been omitted from filming/ 
 II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutdes 
 lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, 
 mais, lorsque cela dtait possible, ces pages n'ont 
 pas 6ti film^es. 
 
 Additional comments:/ 
 Commentaires suppl^mentaires- 
 
 L'Institut a microfilmo le meilleur exemplaire 
 qu'il lui a ete possible de se procurer. Les details 
 de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-^tre uniques du 
 point de vue bibliographique, q ji peuvent modifier 
 une image reproduite. ou qui peuvent exiger une 
 modification dars la m^thode normale de filmage 
 sont indiqu^s ci-dessous. 
 
 r~l Coloured pages/ 
 
 Pages de coulaur 
 
 Pages damaged/ 
 Pages endommag^es 
 
 Pages restored and/oi 
 
 Pages restaurees et/ou pelliculees 
 
 Pages discoloured, stained or foxei 
 Pages ddcolorees, tachet^es ou piquees 
 
 Pages detached/ 
 Pages detachees 
 
 Showthrough> 
 Transparence 
 
 Quality of prir 
 
 Qualite indgale de t'impression 
 
 Includes supplementary materia 
 Comprend du materiel supplementaire 
 
 Only edition available/ 
 Seule Edition disponible 
 
 I I Pages damaged/ 
 
 I I Pages restored and/or laminated/ 
 
 r~~l Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ 
 
 I I Pages detached/ 
 
 r~~J Showthrough/ 
 
 I I Quality of print varies/ 
 
 I I Includes supplementary material/ 
 
 r~~| Only edition available/ 
 
 D 
 
 Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata 
 slips, tissues, etc., have been refiimed to 
 ensure the best possible image/ 
 Les pages totalement ou partiellement 
 obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure. 
 etc.. cnt dt^ film^es A nouveau de facon a 
 obtenir la meilleure image possible. 
 
 This item is ,'ilmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ 
 Ce document est Jilm* au taux de reduction indiqui ci-dessous. 
 10X 14X 
 
 18X 
 
 22X 
 
 26X 
 
 30X 
 
 12X 
 
 16X 
 
 20X 
 
 24X 
 
 28X 
 
 32X 
 
The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks 
 to the generosity of: 
 
 Harold Campbell Vaughan Memorial Library 
 Acadia University 
 
 L'exemplaire film6 fut reproduit grdce d la 
 g6n6rosit6 de: 
 
 Harold Campbell Vaughan Memorial Library 
 Acadia University 
 
 The imag&s appearing here are the best quality 
 possible considering the condition and legibility 
 of the original copy and in keeping with the 
 filming contract specifications. 
 
 Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed 
 beginning with the front cover end ending on 
 the last page wfth a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All 
 other original copies are filmed beginning on the 
 first page with a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, and ending on the last page with a printed 
 or illustrated impression. 
 
 The last recorded frame on each microfiche 
 shall contain the symbol •— *> (meaning "CON- 
 TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), 
 whichever applies. 
 
 Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at 
 different reduction ratios. Those too large to be 
 entirely included in one exposure are filmed 
 beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to 
 right and top to bottom, as many frames as 
 required. The following diagrams illustrate the 
 method: 
 
 Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le 
 plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et 
 de la nettetd de l'exemplaire film6, et en 
 conformity avec les conditions du contrat de 
 filmage. 
 
 Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en 
 papier est imprimde sont film6s en commenpant 
 par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la 
 dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second 
 plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires 
 originaux sont filmds en commenpant par la 
 premidre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'illustration et en ^erminant par 
 la dernidre page qui comporte une telle 
 empreinte. 
 
 Un des symboles suivants apparaTtra sur la 
 dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le 
 cer. le symbole — »-signifie "A SUIVRE", le 
 symbole V signifie "FIN". 
 
 Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre 
 filmds d des taux de reduction diffdrents. 
 Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre 
 reproduit en un seul clichd, il est filmd A partir 
 de I'angle supdrieur gsuche, de gauche d droite, 
 et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre 
 d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants 
 illustrent la mdthode. 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
//2^ ^ / ^fc>*t^/!- '<J^-C l^^t^^ 
 
 A^rA'^^/i u-c./y^^^ 
 
 /■y^-^ y^^'<^ J'^^ *^^^_ 
 
 ^ 
 
 MO'DERN SCIENCE 
 
 IN ITS 
 
 RELATION TO RELIGION. 
 
 A SERMON 
 
 PREACHED AT THE 
 
 VISITATION OF THE RT. REV. THE LORD BISHOP OF (QUEBEC, 
 
 IN THE COLLEGE CHAPFL AT LENNOXVILLE, 
 
 WEDNESDAY EVEc^INQ, JULY 5, 1876. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 BEV. ISAAC BROCK, M.A., 
 
 QUEEN'S COL,t.EGE, OXFOKD, 
 
 OO-RECTOR OF ST. PETER'S CHURCH, SHERBROOKE. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY REQTJESX. 
 
 T. J. TUCK, 8HERBR00KE, P. Q. 
 
 1876. 
 
 ■lor- 
 0lS 
 
 *• »•" 
 

 I 
 
 I 
 
( 
 
 MODERN SCIENCE 
 
 P-2.S 7j 
 
 Sis, 
 
 IN ITS 
 
 RELATION TO RELIGION. 
 
 A SERMON 
 
 FRKACHBD AT THE 
 
 VISITATION OP THE RT. REV. THE LORD BISHOP OP QUEBEC, 
 IN THE COLLEGE CHAPEL AT LENNOXVILLE, 
 WEDNESDAY EVENING, JULY 5, 1876. 
 
 BY THB 
 
 REV. ISAAC BROCK, M.A., 
 
 QUEEN'S COLLEGE, OXFORD, 
 
 CO-RECTOR OP ST. PETER'S CHURCH, SHERBROOXE. 
 
 FUBHSHEO BY RESQUEST. 
 
 T. J. TUCK, SHERBROOKE, P. Q. 
 
 1876. 
 
ANALYSIS OF SERMON. 
 
 I. 
 
 Science and Rellglor cannot be kept entirely separate. 
 
 Tlie Modern Theory of Forces-Tlie correlation and consor-atl ,c < 
 Force— The distinction between Force and Life i^" -pol ^r 
 
 and Mind-The importance of this distinction in r«it?i 
 Science and Religion. 
 
 II. The Modern Theory of Evolution-Its tendency is to Ma' - : , . 
 It contradicts a fundamental principle of Philos i" ^na 
 
 III. 
 
 The Theory of Forces and the Theory of Evolution in connection 
 With our belief in a Personal God-There is a Theory of Forces 
 
 rH^ ^^ ""^^ ^""'^ *°*^ '"" ^®*^^^ «"^ f^i^li i^ a Personal God 
 -The Phenomena of Nature due to the variable combination 
 of invariable Forces-There is a Theory of Evolution which will 
 commend itself to Christian Theists. 
 
 Religion has everything to gain from the real advances of Science 
 -Our Talisman against all the unbelief and doubt of tl 3 rest- 
 less days. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 r; ■< 
 
 mid 
 
 tion 
 rces 
 God 
 !)ion 
 win 
 
 nee 
 
 BSt- 
 
 At the request of my brethren of the Clergy of the Diocese of Que- 
 bec, this Sermon preached at the Biennial Visitation of our Bishop, is 
 now printed. I shall be thankful if It is the means of leading any to 
 study more carefully the subject, a small portion of which is touched 
 upon in the following sermon, namely, " Modern Science in its Relation 
 to Keligion." We can hardly over-estimate the importance of this sub- 
 ject. Everything seems to indicate the growing intensity of the conflict 
 between the Church of God and modern unbelief. One of the fruitful 
 causes of this unbelief is to be found in the supposed antagonism be- 
 tween Science and Religion. On this subject, then, it behoves those who 
 have time and opportunity, and especially those who are called to be 
 "Watchmen, and Stewards of the Lord," to inform themselves and 
 others. Let this be done fairly and thoroughly, and the Christian has 
 i^o cause to fear the result; antagonism will be changed into advoca- 
 e:, : what Kepler beautifully calls, '* the finger of God and the tongue of 
 God,"— His works and His words— will be found to be in full harmony. 
 
 Home of my brethren have asked me in publishing this Sermon to 
 rr-.entlon the names of a few recent works which deal ;with the special 
 phases of modern unbelief. All I can venture to do is to refer to some 
 which I have found useful, leaving those who have accesb to larger 
 libraries to supplement the list. 
 
 ^ j" ^rS?"' Elements op Rkligion." Six Sermons by*Dr. Liddon on, Religion: 
 God : The Soul : Sin : Prayer : The MQdi&tor.—Bivington, 58. 
 
 " MiRACLSs." The Bampton Lectures for 18(55, by Dr. Mozl&y.—Rivina- 
 ton, 78. bd. 
 
 " The Gospel OF THE Resurrection.— Thoughts on its Relation to Rea- 
 son and History, by Dr. Wescott.— MacmillaH, 6s. 
 
 ''The Witness of History to Christ."- The Hulsean Lectures for 1870, by 
 Dr. F&TTaT.—Macmillrin, 5s. 
 
 " Christian Certainty." The difficulties felt by some : the doubts which 
 perplex many ; the sophisms which bewilder more ; the certainty which is 
 within the reach of all : by Rev. S. Wainwright—Hatchrird. lOs. 6d. 
 
 "The Reign op Law. "—By the Duiie of Argyll.— ^^ra^ian, 6s. 
 
 " Thr Higher Ministry of Nature," V^iewed in the Light of Modern Sci- 
 ence, and as an aid to advanced Christian Philosophy : by J. R. Leifchild.— 
 Hodder tfe StougJuon, 9s. 
 
 " Sermons in Stones," or Scripture confirmed by Geology ; by D. McCaus- 
 l&nd.—Bentley, 2s. 6d. 
 
 "The Benedicite," or Tllustrations of the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness 
 of God, as manifested in His Worits ; by Dr. Child.— Jlfitrraw, 6s. 
 
 " Cautions for Doubters :" by Rev. J. H. TUcomb — i2. T. Society, 2s. 
 
 " Christian Truth and Modern Opinion"— Sermons Preached i"n New- 
 Yorlt on, Providence: Prayer: Moral Responsibility and Physical Law: 
 Miracles : Oneness of Scripture : Immortality : Evolution and a Personal 
 Creator — Whittaker, N. Y., $1.25. 
 
 " Faith and Modern Thought"; by Dr. Welch.— /•(t^iam.iV. Y., $1.50. 
 
 "Rbmgion as Affected by Modern Materialism": by Dr. Martineau.— 
 I*utTiam, iV. Y., 75 cts. 
 
 " Religion and Chbmistry"; or. Proofs of God's Plan in the Atmosphere 
 ot its Elements. Ten lectures delivered at Brook! vn Insfifiit« hv J P Onnk 
 —iScribner dc Co., iV. Y.. $3.5o. 
 
 311^^ 
 
To the above may be added the valuable volumes Issued annually In 
 England by the Christian Evidence Society, consisting of Lectures ie- 
 llvered in London under the auspices of that Society, and, as Bishop 
 ElUcott Informs us, " specially designed to meet some of the current 
 forms of unbelief among the educated classes." They are published by 
 Hodder <fe Stoughton. 
 
 " MoDEaNScKi'TicisM," Lectures for 1871.— 7s. 6d. 
 '• Faith akd Frek Thought," Lectures for 1872.— 7s. 6d. 
 • Popular Objections to Revealed Truth." Lectures for 1873.— Gs 
 " Strivings for the Truth." Lectures for 1874.-58. 
 
 Thk Credentials OF Christianity." Lectures for 1875.— Ss. 
 
 And if any are anxious to see with what crushing force the power of 
 satlremay be wielded against an unbelieving science, let me commend 
 to them a little tractate that has Just been put into my hands by a mem- 
 ber of my congregation, entitled, '• Job's Comforters ; or Scientific 
 Sympathy," by Dr. Parker. It has been re-published in the United 
 Staieshy Anson Itr,ndol/& Co., N. Y. 30 cts. I cannot forbear to quote 
 the closing address of Job to tho<=;e who had utterly failed to tnnnh the 
 agony of his heart. " In the day of his prosperity Job sent for the books 
 of Huxley the Moleculite, John Stewart the Milllte, and Tyndall the 
 Sadducee, and read them all with an attentive eye. Then he rose up and 
 said, ' O wise, yet foolish men! your books are full of wisdom and in- 
 struction, and mighty men are ye in the fields •( learning. But have ye 
 forgotten that there is a spirit In man, and that the inspiration of the 
 Almighty gives him understanding? Know ye the way Into the heart 
 when It is in ruins ? or can ye lift up those who are pressed down by the 
 hand of God? Keep your learning In Its proper place and It will help 
 the progress of the world ; but attempt not with it to heal the wounds 
 of the heart. Not to your wisdom, but to your simplicity, will God re- 
 veal Himself; He hath hidden Himself from the wise and prudent, and 
 shewn forth His beauty unto babes : even so. Father, for so it seemed 
 goodinThy sight.' " 
 
 Sherbrooke, July 10, 1876. 
 
BoKANS XI ; 33, 36. '• O. the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom aud 
 
 knowledge of God! For of Him, and through Him, and to Him 
 
 are all things." 
 
 The subject which was announced for our considera- 
 tion in Conference this morning, and to which our Bis- 
 hop drew our attention last night, — ** The Studies of 
 the Clergyman" — suggested to me the subject, a frag- 
 ment of which I wish to bring before you this evening, 
 namely, Modern Science in its relation to Religion. 
 
 If in these days we are to commend our Ministrj'' to 
 men of thought and culture, this, I think, must be 
 amongst the subjects to which we would do well to de- 
 vote a portion of our time and study. It is ^seless to ig- 
 nore the advancements of Modern Science in their bear- 
 ing on our religious belief: useless, in my judgment, to 
 endeavour to maintain tha^. Science and Religion may 
 be and ought to be kept entirely separate : that they be- 
 lof!^ to wholly different spheres of thought : that the 
 ideas which prevail in the one province have no relation 
 to those which prevail in the other. " This," says the 
 Duke of Argyll in his Reign of Law, " is a doctrine of- 
 fering many temptations to many minds. It is grate- 
 ful to scientific men who are afraid of being thought 
 hostile to Religion. It is grateful to religious men who 
 are afraid of being thought to be afraid of Science. To 
 these, and to all who are troubled to reconcile what 
 they have been taught to believe with what they have 
 come to know, this doctrine affords a natural and con- 
 venient escape. There is but one objection to it — but 
 that is the fatal objection — that it is not true. The 
 spiritual world and the intellectual world are not separ- 
 ated after this fashion ; and the notion that they are so 
 separated does but encourage men to accept in each 
 
 ideas which will at last be found to be false in both 
 
 If He who formed the mind be one with Him who is 
 

 
 the Orderer of all things concerning which that mind 
 s occupied, there can be no end to the points of^o". 
 tact between our different conceptions of them, of Him 
 and of ourselves. The instinct which impels us o seTk 
 for harmony m the truths of Science and the truths of 
 
 Hon r\''i ^ ^'^^'^' ^"^ ^ ^'"^^ °"^ than the disposi- 
 tion which leads us ^o evade the difficulty by pre^e?! 
 ing that there is no relation between them. For after 
 all, It is a pretence and nothing more. No man who 
 thoroughly accepts a principle in the philosophy of Na- 
 ture vvhich he feels to be inconsistent with a doctrine 
 o Kehgion, can help having his belief in that doctrine 
 fothin N.t""^''^";"^^-' -^^^ may, we must belief! 
 
 understand h' f^ ^'^^^^""' T^^^ ^^^^"^^ ^^ ^^""0 
 understand: but we cannot reallv believe two proposi- 
 tions which are felt to be contradictory... . We are 
 right in thinking that, if they are both indeed true thev 
 
 onno ed'Jh"'^^'^' ^"^i '^'^'y ^^^^^y ^'^ fundamentaUy 
 opposed, they cannot both be true. That is to say, there 
 
 must be some error in our manner of conception in the 
 
 one, or in the other, or in both The error may lie in 
 
 our Theology or ,n our Science. It may be that some 
 
 dogma derived by tradition from our fathers, is havTg 
 
 Its hollowness betrayed by that light which ;ometimef 
 
 shines upon the ways of God out of a better know edge 
 
 of His works, or It may be, that some proud and rafh 
 
 generalization of the schools is having^ its falsehood 
 
 proved by the violence it does to the dlpest InsS 
 
 o our spiritual nature. Such, for example, is the con 
 
 elusion to which the language of some sciei^tific men"s 
 
 evidently pointing, that great general Laws, inexorable 
 
 in their operation, and Causes in endless chain of in! 
 
 and'thi'tThTr'' '"' '^' ^«V"^"^ P°^^^^^ i" Nature, 
 and that they leave no room for any special direction 
 or providential ordering of events. If this be true it h 
 vain to deny it^ bearing on Religion. What then can 
 be the use of Prayer f Can Laws hear us ? Can thev 
 change, or can they suspend themselves ? " 
 
 It IS then useless to endeavour to maintain that Sci- 
 ence stands in no relation to Religion : it is more, it is 
 
unwise to do so, because we thus deprive ourselves of 
 help invaluable against the assaults of modern unbelief. 
 We cannot afford to part with any of our weapons of 
 defence against a subtle Infidelity, which would not 
 only rob us of the Christian Scriptures, but would also 
 undermine the first principles of Christian Theism. 
 For of this I am deeply persuaded, that the more that 
 Science unfolds to us of the works of Creation, of the 
 Laws of Nature, of the adaptation of means to an end. 
 the more shall we be penetrated with the conviction 
 that the presence of God is univ-rsal in Nature, that 
 His opera as are co-extensive with the entire Uni- 
 verse. Yea, the more that Science in all its depart- 
 ments teaches us to know of the works and ways of 
 God, the ^ore profound will be our conviction of *' the 
 depth of th? riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge 
 of God." ° 
 
 These few thoughts will serve tc aitroJuce the por- 
 tion of the general subject—** Modern Science in its re- 
 lation to Religion"— to which I venture to ask your 
 attention this evening. That limited yet comprehen- 
 sive subject I may announce in the following terms : 
 
 The Modern Theory of Forces, in connexion with 
 THE Theory of Evolution, and a belief in a 
 Personal God. 
 
 I trust, considering the aspect of our times, and the 
 nature of our present gathering, that my brethren will 
 not deem this an unfitting subject to bring before them 
 in a Sermon, so far, at least, as the limits of a Sermon 
 allow. 
 
 I. First, then, we have to consider the Modern 
 Theory of Forces. 
 
 The doctrine of Force, as the sole and ultimate 
 ground of all the phenomena of the Universe, including 
 those of life and mind, is the key-position of th- ant!- 
 religious scientist. Herbert Spencer, the most system^ 
 atic, and perhaps the most advanced evolutionist, tells 
 us that Force is the ground of all phenomena, and fur- 
 
 I 
 
8 
 
 ther, he informs us that force is unknowable : and this, 
 forsooth, is proposed as the common ground of recon- 
 ciliation between Science and Religion. We pause not 
 now to inquire whether Religion can accept this theory 
 as sufficient to satisfy the longing, the hunger, of the 
 human heart, but we ask : Is Science satisfied — satis- 
 fied with this proposed reconciliation in the unknow- 
 able? Can Science, whose very office it is to know, con- 
 sent to a postulate which is suicidal — an ultimate which 
 would swallow up every scientific labor and success in 
 the fathomless abyss of nescience ? 
 
 The Modern Theory of Forces proposes, not only to 
 explain the phenomena of the material universe, but 
 also to solve the problems of being, to unravel the mys- 
 teries of life and mind, of thought and volition. Two 
 pnnciples of Force are called in to aid in this process : 
 principles whose correctness we admit in reference to 
 material nature : namely, the Correlation and the Con- 
 servation of Force. It has been observed that heat, 
 light, electricity, magnetism, chemical affinity and mo- 
 tion have a reciprocal dependence ; that not one of them, 
 regarded abstractedly, can be said to be the separate 
 cause of the others, but that every one of them often be- 
 comes convertible into any of the others. Thus heat 
 may produce electricity, and electricity heat. Hence has 
 been deduced the principle of the Correlation of Forces. 
 And as these forces are only transmuted, not destroyed, 
 by this Correlation, hence has been deduced the princi- 
 ple of the Conservation of Force. Herbert Spencer, in 
 order to avoid the idea of a personal Conservator, pre- 
 fers the expression the " Persistence of Force," 
 
 Now when we come to apply this theory of Forces 
 to the theory of Evolution, we are met with a question 
 of essential and fundamental importance — namely — Are 
 life and mind forces ? Is heat, for example, convertible 
 into life ? Can matter be transmuted into mind ? 
 
 Professor Grove who thirty-four years ago was the 
 first to announce the two principles I have referred to ; 
 and Faraday, who regarded them as the highest laws 
 hitherto discovered in physics, both confined the Cor- 
 
9 
 
 
 relation and Conservation of Force to matter, and ap- 
 plied them to the solut"on of phenomena within the 
 range of material nature. But within the last decade 
 of years a great change has taken place in the language 
 of some scientific men : a change which shows that the 
 tendency is to enlarge those principles far beyond the 
 realm of matter. Great uncertainty and vagueness at- 
 taches to that language ; yet, when Professor Youmans 
 tells us that ''the law of force not only governs the 
 motions of the planets, but also rules the actions of 
 men,"— when Dr. Bray tells us that " mind is force,"— 
 and Moleschott declares that '' thought is a motion of 
 matter ;" the tendency of such language is plain. This 
 modern Theory of Forces overstepping the limits of 
 the material field, and applying its hypothesis to life 
 and thought, can but work mischief. For, as a recent 
 writer has remarked, " though it cannot tell what force 
 is, nor what is matter, nor what are forces, yet it de- 
 clares that vitality and thought, life and mind, are the 
 same as matter— forces the same in kind as physical 
 fcices— thus destroying all fundamental distinctions; 
 correlating thought with heat, choice with physical 
 compulsion, and life with the sweep of a lever ; correl- 
 ating and confounding human morality with material 
 mechanism, freedom with fate, moral government with 
 natural necessity : in a word making life and mind ma- 
 terial — the same in kind as a stock or a stone — imper- 
 illing at once moral government, human responsibility, 
 and individual freedom." 
 
 Let me, then, point out the distinction, which evi- 
 dently is of highest moment to grasp, and to maintain, 
 bet\veen force and life, between matter and mind. 
 
 Life is not a force, but a power. Force is mechan- 
 ical, power is living. Force is that which is used : 
 Power is that which uses. Can force produce life ? 
 Does not Nature in all its departments teach that life 
 proceeds only from life? The Scriptures teach us to 
 regard life as a special and mysterious endowment of 
 the Creator. Thus, after man's body had been formed, 
 we are told that Jehovah breathed into him '' the breath 
 
10 
 
 of life, and man became a living soul." And thus St 
 Paul teaches the philosophers of Athens, who might 
 have learnt the same lesson from their own poets, that 
 the Living God is the Fountain of all life. '' He 
 giveth to all life, and breath, and all things : In Him 
 we live, and move, and have our being." Now do not 
 the researches of modern vScience confirm here the 
 teaching of Revelation ? Dr. Lionel Beale, an accom- 
 plished microscopist, published about five years ago a 
 vvork m reply to Professor Huxley's Essay on '' The 
 Physical Basis of Life," in which he shows that livin- 
 matter can be plainly distinguished, even in the case of 
 minute particles, from dead matter. He affirms that 
 It has been conclusively proved that the phenomena 
 ot the simplest living thing are essentiallv different 
 trom those of non-living matter, and cannot be imitated 
 and that ^he living does not emanate from the non- 
 living, or pass into it by gradations. Life is no mere 
 sum oi ordinary forces, nor does vital action result 
 Irom material changes alone. It cannot be shown that 
 the matter of the world and material forces necessarily 
 give ^ rise to the development of liie. We may there- 
 tore, he concludes, '' still regard life as transcending 
 mere matter and its forces, and as a distinct gift of 
 an all-wise Omnipotence. 
 
 The distinction between Matter and Mind is obvious 
 and imperatively demanded in the interests of Science' 
 Matter is^ that which is known. Mind is that which 
 knows. On this distinction what is the verdict of our 
 consciousness ? J. S. Mill, in his - Introduction to 
 Logic, asserts, " Whatever is known to us by conscious- 
 ness IS known beyond possibility of question." In 
 this hght ot consciousness we may learn each for our- 
 selves, and better than any can tell us, what mind is. 
 iMrst, consciousness tells us that mind is distinguished 
 h-om matter, self from not-self. Further, conscious- 
 ness tells us that mind is a spontaneous agent, actinc>- 
 without compulsion, and even in spite of compulsion^ 
 Hence the ax om which we all feel the force of. Con- 
 scious intention gives real character to human aMion 
 
11 
 
 "A man may smile and be a villain." The same act 
 may be the salutation of a loved one, or the kiss of a 
 traitor. " No such rule can be applied to the move- 
 nients of matter. We cannot attach to them any 
 character, either of merit or demerit. The blow from 
 a fallmg hammer may kill a man, and yet, by universal 
 consent, myolve not the least moral character : while 
 that blow if impelled by malice prepense, becomes 
 murder, and the perpetrator is, by universal consent, 
 condemned as guilty of a capital crime." 
 
 The distinction between Matter and Mind, the hope- 
 lessness of the attempt to establish any correlation 
 between the forces of matter and the activities of 
 mmd IS further seen from the fact that moral govern- 
 ment exists. " Material forces never become responsi- 
 ble, however much they may be employed by the 
 mental activities. On the other hand, mental activities 
 never become irresponsible, however much they may 
 employ the material forces. The distinction is essen- 
 tial and immutable." 
 
 So much by way of statement and proof of a position 
 all-important to maintain— the distinction between 
 matter and mind,— all-important, for in the interests 
 of both Science and Religion we must protest against 
 the identification of mind with matter to which the 
 modern Theory of Forces points. 
 
 In the interests of Science : for if mind is force and 
 force a quality of matter, then there is nothing that 
 can be known, because there is nothing that can take 
 knowledge. No mind as distinguished from matter. 
 And if there is nothing that can be known. Science of 
 course is destroyed : there remains nothing but the 
 blank of nescience. And is this to be the logical re- 
 sult of that latest form of unbelief, which somewhat 
 boastfullv claims the allegiance of the highest culture 
 of America and Europe — Positivism ? 
 
 In the interests of Religion, too, we protest against 
 this identification of Matter and Mind. One of the 
 most advanced thinkers, so called, of our day, pushing 
 the modern T' " '^ . . . - 
 
 ^ory 
 
 'orces to its logical materialis 
 
actions than thev are of mnJZ^ P^edicable of human 
 ern Theory f FoyertilTbT^an orhis mtlTef 
 dom; woi.Jd sweep away the great ".afe-uaTnf "" 
 
 Evolution we mean the theory accordhis to which I 
 
 lire on our p-lnhp ic a^^;..^^ • "f->. "-^ wnicn all 
 
 broken series hv iJ V^ '" ^ continuous and un- 
 
 pnmordia "erms \v°.lh""°^K line, from one o^ more 
 
 lTiS't°ri''''''^' '~^' '^^ ""•" I' '' '^-^^^^^^^^^ 
 
 Evolutionitn Mn' r"'^ f '''" '^'"'«™ Theory or 
 HeXrf V Materiahsm that neither Darwin nor 
 Herbert Spencer are Atheist.; A u..;„t "'"'." "or 
 two will mike this plain '^ quotation or 
 
 sa,^''!""'^,'" '"' "'°'■^°" "The Origin of Species" 
 se ve,; I n ' '^ ^ grandeur in this view oflife with Us 
 
 Creator Z^':' ''"'r' ''''" ""-'"^^y '^'•eathed by t e 
 ^■eator mto a few forms or into one ; and that while 
 
1 ^> 
 
 this planet has gone cycling on, according to a fixed law 
 
 LffZJ'JiT T ^'^^"^Pl^ ^ beginning, endless forms, 
 most beau iful and most wonderful have been, and are 
 bemg evolved." And even Spencer admits the exist' 
 ence of Absolute Being : though he maintains that 
 this Being IS unknowable. In his work entitled, - First 
 Principles," he says, - The axiomatic truths of physica 
 science unavoidably postulate Absolute Being as their 
 common basis." Both these eminent Evolutionists, how- 
 ever, exclude as far as xye may judge from their works, 
 the action of a Personal and Ever-Present God alon£^ 
 the line in which Evolution is supposed to have taken 
 place 1 shall presently notice some of the inevitable 
 results of this exclusion. vuaoie 
 
 Spencer seems confident that Evolution without God 
 IS competent to solve all the phenomena of the Uni- 
 verse, including even those connected with the mental 
 and morai endowments of man. Darwin, with more 
 modesty, seems to feel that his theory of Evolution is 
 still m a measure hypothetical, inasmuch as manv o" 
 the intermediate links are wanting. It is, however! 
 right to say that the discoveries of modern Science lead 
 one to believe that before many years have elapsed, some 
 theory of Evolution will be generally accepted by sci- 
 entific men as the most rational explanation of the 
 phenomena of Nature. We shall presently enquire 
 whether there is a Theory of Evolution which we can 
 accept, and yet retain our belief in a Personal, Ever- 
 Present God, - of Whom, through Whom, and to Whom 
 a 1 things; whether in fact we can be Evolutionists and 
 at the same time devout Christian 1 neists. But before 
 1 do this I must be allowed to make a few observations 
 on the modern Theory of Evolution so far as it has 
 been elaborated and developed by Darwin, Spencer and 
 others. ^ 
 
 This theory, in consequence of its exclusion of the 
 action and control of a pervading Mind, contradicts one 
 ot the fundamental axioms of both Philosophy and Sci 
 ence ; namely~an effect cannot be greater than its 
 
 cause. But here, according to this th 
 
 eory, are 
 
 phy 
 
 SI- 
 
:i4 ^ 
 
 his^ book on " The Des fml^M "''=..'°""- ' ^^^^^^i" '" 
 itors of the human race Li^Y.f'''.'''^'^^^ ^^^ ProR^n- 
 wards, till by awncie. wh,V? ^ '''' ,f ""^ Ascidians up- 
 
 wonder and the glory of thl fn! ' '"^T t ^^"'^ " 'he 
 he is so ; and one of his nrt. T^', • Emphatically 
 wonder and glory of the I InfP'' "'f'"'' 'o be the 
 will ; that he partK conh-o r''" '%"^^' ^' ^^^'"^^^ 
 Nature ; and the more™ t ' ed h™^'f ,?"'' ■"""'■"ate 
 the n,.bler and the more domlln? '■"*!,' "'"^' Power, 
 was that ^viIl produced ? Rv^^ * "" i"-" ^'"- How 
 ory, which hfd no wiil I ^And'th''"!'"^ '°">''^ 'he- 
 thought, and reason n" and^l '" ^'""^ "^ "''"'« 
 they been evolved From that ^h-'l^l'-T"'^^"^^ have 
 no reason, no conscieZ V *''v ^'^ "° 'hought, 
 
 been a world-ruling ^xom R,;f'' "'''t "''"^ fi' b^s 
 ■tis false, for here ?/,S-;J,^;;';,-'=-'''"g'o I>arwi„, 
 
 forms ^slh™' Go^?c;i^tef i^ '^^T^'^ P''^-) ■"- 
 idea of a special crea on o^ man^n""^ "'^'"''^'"S '"y 
 substitute a scientific mv^h thi ?£r ■ '"'T^^' '° 
 man's origin by Natural and Sexuafselct"" "'"'''">' °^ 
 aside the question of insniiatinn !, ^"'°"~^^"mg 
 reason. Supposing bo"h'cn,?;^''/PP'''''"- °"'y to 
 be myths, uiJch is^the mol; creH l- ^ "^^-"'' °"'''" '° 
 the Darwinian ? When we th?nk r '^ ■ ,^''' '"°^«'''^ or 
 his penetrating mind-h,. .'' °^ f""" ''•"'■"?? will- 
 not the Darwinian r"jthabsr'elv '?r""l'''''>----'^ 
 credible? >in aosoU^ely and hopelessly in- 
 
 di.r"S;e of'thl f?nSen1af ^°'""? ""' -'>' -"'ra- 
 and Science ; it eaves us nnflt"P'? ,°^ Philosophy 
 the sport of chance E'oh?tf '^ «hole Universe at 
 Theory of Forces assum'X'?::' oT ''^ '""'''■- 
 thmgs, even life and mind from nl^ f/^olvrng all 
 i-esses are suggested byUXfe!"! ^^ , Jwo 
 
purpose, 
 elligent, 
 'y evoJv- 
 lAvin, in 
 pro^,^en- 
 ians up- 
 nd Sex- 
 Is '' the 
 atically 
 be the 
 zeroises 
 nimate 
 power, 
 How 
 is the- 
 man's 
 ehave 
 
 3Ught, 
 
 it has 
 irwin, 
 
 e) in- 
 s:any 
 ;ds to 
 )ry of 
 :tting 
 ^'^y to 
 in to 
 ic or 
 ■iil— 
 ' — is 
 y in- 
 
 itra- 
 •phy 
 e at 
 lern 
 alJ 
 Vo 
 isis 
 
 15 
 
 and heterogenesis ; by either Evolution is left to chance 
 
 caprice Let homogenesis be adopted, that like nm 
 f."<^" l|ke ; then, as intelligence and desi V are de' 
 hberately ruled out by this theory, we have.n ^ff »" 
 greater than the cause: life and^'n elligence evS 
 from a cause which possesses neither ; afesSlt in thk 
 process, possib e only bv chance s,, til t I 
 
 process E^o!utic,nists'ad%. ^ lea': Tio the l^on 
 of chance. It has been trulv said f}^o^ ^^ i ^ ^ 
 
 only be excluded by the presL:: of ^ Intdfent ^nd 
 
 the°fir^ TSi^I^^i^'^t^l:^^^ destroy 
 be nothing bey^ond the la t^ ?ophy or chma'v ofVI^'',' 
 and Sexual Selection, then h1\ not ht ° ore than 
 he highest zoological organism-the l^st and best 
 animal. He is not a distinct creation • bv h' tN. 
 he IS determined not to be sudtand hs'hones^a^ 
 fears, al his religion, all his art, poetry, music and 
 iraagmation, are only the ultimate outcome of sn 
 
 fsh Te?™""^; "^ " ^^ ""'^ °f "- beas" that peri 
 ish, he comes into existence as they do, and like them 
 he goes out of existence." . ana iiKe them 
 
 But enough of this Theory of Evolution which thu^ 
 contradicts one of the fundamental principles o Ph los^ 
 
 sn^tn"ff """'"' ^^-hi^h leaves the universe to the 
 Religion. ''"''' '"^ which would utterly destroy aU 
 
 III. Let us now go on to consider this whole Thenrv 
 of l-orces and the Theory of Evolution in c^nJcHon 
 with our belief in a Personal and Ever-Pr sem G^d " 
 
 There ,s a Theory of Forces which is fat.l to anv 
 r,':i'" f.P"''"! ?— ' 9!'<?: 'tis that which' c^ 
 
 founds life and for 
 
 ce ; which identifie 
 
 s muid and 
 
te 
 
 matter. This theory would seem to point to a mind- 
 less Universe. It is passing strange that those who 
 labor to render the Universe intelligible, should yet call 
 in question its relation to intelligence. If it takes mind 
 to construe the world, how can the negation of mind 
 suffice to constitute it? Let the disciples of modern 
 Materialism tell us. 
 
 There is a Theory of Evolution too which is fatal to 
 any real iniiuential belief in a Personal andEver-Present 
 God. 'Tis that which though acknowledging that God 
 may have created the primordial germ or germs, leaves 
 all the rest to Evolution, and Force, and Law, to Nat- 
 ural Selection and Development, independently of God, 
 independently of the control of Mind and Intelligence. 
 But there is a Theory of Forces which we may hold 
 and still retain our living faith in a Personal God. Let 
 us regard forces as coming from one central Fountain- 
 Head of Power ; that Fountain the Incomprehensible, 
 yet not therefore the unknowable, God ; and then we 
 may accept the Theory of Forces as explaining the 
 observed phenomena of the material Universe. But 
 have you solved the mystery of the Universe because 
 you have traced the working of certain forces accord- 
 ing to certain ascertained laws ? You have done all, 
 indeed that Science can legitimately do; you have, con- 
 centrating your attention on observed phenomena, dis- 
 covered the modus operandi ; you have answered the 
 question — How. But you have not answered the ques- 
 tion — Whence. 
 
 For example : You have discovered the Force of 
 Gravitation, and the laws according to which it acts. 
 This enables you to understand How it is that such 
 and such things happen, but whence this force, whence 
 these law^s according to which it acts ? On that ulte- 
 rior questicn Science has nothing to say ; still less can 
 it contradict Religion when it says that this and all 
 forces — these and all laws issue from the Living God 
 — the central Fountain-Head of Powder. 
 
 But, I shall here be reminded that forces are inva- 
 riable in their manner of operation. We would have 
 
17 
 
 < 
 
 expected no less, if they are to be traced to the ener- 
 gies of one Omnipresent and Pervading Will. Let me 
 however, remind you that the phenomena of Nature 
 are not due to the operation of one invariable force, 
 but to the variable combination of invariable forces ; to 
 the mutual adjustment and balance of forces, in fact. 
 A most interesting and fruitful field would open to us 
 here, had we time to enter on it. The orbits of the 
 heavenly bodies in space ; the properties of the air we 
 breathe ; the qualities of water ; the marvellous power 
 of numbers in the laboratory of Nature, making, as 
 chemistry shows, of the sa - elements differently com- 
 bined — a nutritious food— d a deadly poison ; yea, all 
 the realms of Nature, so far as Science has explored 
 them, would supply us with examples innumerable of 
 the wonderful adjustment of forces, of the marvellous 
 balance of law,— an adjustment upon which not only 
 our own happiness and enjoyment of life depends, but 
 an adjustment involving the very safety of the Universe. 
 A study of the adjustment of forces, of the balance of 
 law, which is found to prevail in every df.partment of 
 Nature and to regulate the phenomena of the material 
 Universe would, I think, lead us again and again to 
 exclaim with St. Paul, "Oh, the depth of the riches 
 both of the wisdom and knowledge of God !" 
 
 There is then a Theory of Forces which we can hold, 
 and yet retain with even stronger tenacity our belief in 
 the Living God ; and so, too, there is a Theory of 
 Evolution which will commend itself to the most de- 
 vout Christian Theists. Surely Evolution implies an 
 Evolver, and such an Evolver must be Divine. The 
 very magnitude, the continuity, and the certainty in- 
 volved in the progress and results of Evolution must 
 comprehend an All-Wise Evolver. Abolish if you can 
 the dogma of Special Creation, and substitute for it 
 what you call Evolution. Employ all the science at 
 your command to establish it, and after all, and by all, 
 you establish the Mighty Evolver. Of Him you can- 
 not rid this earth ; of Him you cannot rid this Universe. 
 All harm_onious and orderly Evolution, all Evolution 
 
18 
 
 according to purpose, plan, or law, necessarily implies 
 the presence of God, who purposes, plans, and rules; 
 the fountain of order, the Author of harmony. 
 
 Wa lace places the Theory of Evolution in oppo- 
 sition to what he is pleased to call " the continual inter- 
 terence hypothesis. But no intelligent Christian 
 entertains the idea of a continual interference of Divine 
 power. Interference is a term utterly inapplicable to 
 Omnipotence, utterly incompatible with Omni- 
 presence, and quite as much so with Omniscience. 
 Ihe Being who foresees all, who is present with all, 
 who can do all, can never in any sense interfere with 
 
 ^ZhL R''''',"/t!^ ^' '^"^" ^"^^^^^" ^h^ sequences 
 which He Himself has pre-ordained ; never can there 
 
 be any necessity for interference when the Omnipotent 
 IS executing by law His own designs, and accomplishing 
 rlis ulterior purposes." ^ 
 
 The Theory of Evolution, then, which the Christian 
 can accept, and which rational Science calls for, is one 
 which demands ever, and everywhere, the presence of an 
 
 tri'^lll ■ ^u "°^ '"^^^^ ^^ '^^y that - of Him " 
 
 Zr^! \^F '" ^^f' origination, in their primordial 
 everT'n.r^'f"^'''.' ^"'^^'/ recognize that, to which 
 
 bear emphatic witness, that 'Uhrough Hnn" art all 
 tnings in their evolution or development. And then 
 we can intelligently believe that '^toHm" are ail 
 wPi f ^^% ultimate end of creation is to show 
 forth he glory of God '' Thus," as has been remark 
 ed, all things centre harmoniously in God. Mind, as 
 a Iree personal activity, is His offspring ; and Force 
 though unseen, is His creation, the product of His will' 
 he ground of all material phenomena. So that n 
 the higher light of rational science as well as in the 
 
 tMn' '"'"''^ ""^ ^^^^^' ^^^ ^PP^^^^ ^^ the Author of all 
 i^lf^i: i'^'^" confirms the affirmation of faith 
 
 ha the worlds were framed by the Word of God ; so 
 
 that things which are seen, were not made of thin^«^ 
 
 lason ^" ;PPf/-- , '^^"^ ^''^ ^y the authority ?f 
 leason and of faith is the Universe wrested fromi the 
 
false and fearful dominion of fate, and the capricious 
 and still more fearful dominion of chance. Moral jrov- 
 ernment is restored to the world. Not only power but 
 wisdom and goodness belong to God. Henceforth 
 bcience, as well as Religion, may rest by faith in God. 
 He is our dwelling-place in all generations. The Uni- 
 verse IS secure under His almighty and everlasting and 
 holy government. Neither necessity nor chance can 
 wreck or crush it. Here then is the clue to the true 
 Iheory of Evolution, which runs throughout all mate- 
 rial Nature, and inductively and securely leads us back 
 to force, and up to God the Creator of force and the 
 Author of Nature, namely, an Evolution originated by 
 a Divine mind, controlled by Divine power, guided by 
 Divine wisdom, and consummated by Divine benevolence." 
 Thus, then, we may be Evolutionists and yet devout 
 believers in the Living God. Not a few of our fore- 
 most men of science are so. They believe that Evolu- 
 tion IS the method which the Living God has chosen to 
 act upon, in bringing on the scene the successive organ- 
 isms of Nature. 
 
 Of this let us be well assured we have nothing to 
 fear from the real advances of Science. The works and 
 the words of God must be in eternal harmony. Rash 
 hypotheses of scientists resting on insufficient data may 
 clash with Re"?lation. But wait ; fresh discoveries, or 
 inductions drawn from a larger field, will overthrow 
 those hypotheses. Human interpretations of Revelation 
 may be at variance with well ascertained facts or laws 
 of Nature. Again let us wait— wait for light. Perhaps 
 from the works of God the Spirit of God is flashing 
 light on some words of God, which hitherto we have 
 understood in a sense which is now seen not to be their 
 true sense. 
 
 Again, I say, we have nothing to fear from the 
 advances of modern Science. On the contrary, I be- 
 lieve that Religion has everything to gain from those 
 advances. They are revealing more fully the reign of 
 law, the prevalence of order. They -re multiplying in 
 every realm of Nature the proofs of u^sign^ exhibiting 
 
m 
 
 more and more the marvellous adaptation of means to 
 an end, and thus leading us, in thousands and thousands 
 of fresh discoveries, to see more and more into " the 
 depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge 
 of God." 
 
 I have trespassed too long already on yoiu kind atten- 
 tion. I cannot, however, close without reminding you of 
 what is our real talisman against all the unbelief and 
 harrassing doubt with which these restless days of ourj) 
 are unhappily fruitful. I mention both unbelief and 
 doubt. You will, however, distinguish between them, 
 and certainly our treatment of a sorrowful doubt will 
 be very different from our treatment of a glad unbelief. 
 For while the latter may demand a trenchant severity, 
 the former certainly calls for a wise and discriminating 
 tenderness. 
 
 But what is our real talisman against the unb dief of 
 these sceptical days, and against the torturing doubts 
 which, unbidden, will find a lodgment '" the breasts of 
 some ? Is it not to be found in a stronger personal 
 faith in, and as the result of this, in a deeper personal 
 devotion to our Divine Lord ? 
 
 Amongst the last of the weighty words of counsel 
 addressed by the late Bishop Wilberforce to ^ the 
 University of Oxford, were some on this subject which 
 I will quote, .nd with which I will close. After 
 speaking of some of the dangers of our day, the Bishop 
 asks : " In what course at such a time is safety to 
 be found ? Certahily not, I think, in sleepily 
 disregarding what is passing around us: as certainly 
 not in simply s-.tting ourselves against the temper of 
 the day: in hating progress; in worshiping ignorance 
 or dullness; in suspecting Science, or with a timid 
 restlessness, bred of weakness of faith, seeking to in- 
 vent some new concordat between it and Revelation ; 
 nor in forbidding criticism ; in turning away from dis- 
 coveries; and scoffing at advance. No, these cannot 
 help us. The rock, which with its rugged breast af- 
 fronts the violence of the torrent, cannot stay, but can 
 only chafe into a ruder anger its troubled waters. 
 
21 
 
 Christian philosophy should know some higher wisdom 
 
 than that What do the many voices around 
 
 us proclaim, but that more than ever we need a per- 
 sonal knowledge of Christ to keep us sa^e amidst the 
 strife of tongues ? That not in ears closed artificially 
 against syren songs, not in minds manacled, and igno- 
 rance co-irted, but in a more abundant presence with 
 us of Him who is our Faith, shill be our safeguard. 
 When faith becomes more difficult, when sayings be- 
 come harder, we do but want the more a real personal 
 acquantance with Him. We need to trust with a 
 simple affiance in His atonenient ; to walk more with 
 Him in our Ga'ilee; to lean our burden more entirely 
 fya Him ; to have more inward experience of what He 
 its to the soul who lives in communion with Him ; so 
 that th' chafing sc . ot intellectual difficulty, when 
 it breaks upon us will bit lead us, like the limpet, to 
 its rock, to cling, by the renewed instincts of the soul, 
 thf closer to Him. 
 
 This is the real talisman against unbelief. It is not 
 to be found in hard, narrow, exclusive views, but in a 
 personal love to Christ : for this rises in its strength as 
 difficulty rises ; this arms the soul with new mstincts, 
 which defend it in the day of danger. For such an 
 one, when questions trouble him, there is a whole life 
 of resistance to unbelief, which is quickened into ac- 
 tion by the mere touch of what might harm the spirit. 
 There is the remembrance of past communings with His 
 Lord ; there is the sense of His present nearness; there 
 is the clasp of deepening love ; there is the soul's pas- 
 sionate cry, " Lord, to whom shall we go ?" there is 
 the realization by our own spirit, of the great simple 
 philosophi'^al verity of St. Augustine, " Qui reefs 
 amat procid dtibio rede credit" 
 
 True love to Christ will sweep away a thousand 
 doubts, and answer a thousand speculative difficulties ; 
 and as this is to b -. our owr\ internal safeguard, so it 
 should set the note for those who have to handle the 
 mysteries of God before such a generation as this. 
 With this spfeguard, there can be no danger 1,o the 
 
truth from any amount of increased intellectual activ- 
 ity. It is mere unbelief to suspect that criticisms or 
 Science can threaten Christianity. Such fearfulness 
 belongs to the defenders of an imposture, not to be 
 keepers of the truth. It does but increase our diffi- 
 culties ; for suspicion evermore breeds suspicion. It is 
 not by limiting the intellectual side of our Religion, but 
 by exalting its spiritual side, that we can be safe and 
 keep others safe. It is not by striving to repress intel- 
 lectual activity, nor by jealously warning it off the pre- 
 cincts of revealed Religion : it is by lifting up before 
 men's eyes the Cross of Christ, and teaching them per- 
 sonal affiance in Him, that we shall keep uninjured the 
 great deposit of the truth. 
 
 This is the only talisman. This, and this only, can 
 keep us safe amidst our own perils,— to have known 
 ourselves the love bred within the soul, by a true belief 
 in Christ's atoning blood, in Christ's perpetual presence, 
 in Christ's abiding love. And of this we may be sure- 
 no speculative difficulties can endanger one soul, which 
 has been taught by experimental knowledge to say 
 in times of darkness, ' Lord, to whom shall we go ? Thou 
 
 HAST THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LiFE.' " 
 
 5 
 
 T] 
 beyoi 
 thele 
 of thi 
 for fu 
 Onev 
 Prefa 
 and 
 Perso 
 It cat 
 beliei 
 
 Di 
 
 AND J 
 
23 
 
 * 
 
 K», ^*^5 ^i?^^?*" Of ,*li<\ above Sermon wishes to disclaim all orieinalitv 
 beyond that luvolyed in condensation and arrangement Jnreferen^^^^ 
 the leading Ideas it contains. He is indebted mo?e or less fully to some 
 ?iw *'.^*''"^^ KlH""^^ ^"^ **i ^^^ Preface, and to them he is glad to refer 
 ^^^^''^^^^^^^^^J^ll^relyicldsition of the different partsof agreat subilct 
 P?Pf^Pp''^J'hTnH^^"^"'^*f.1?' accidentally, from those merrtfonedTn'' the 
 Preface, which deals with one of the most prevalent, and obstinate 
 
 PeLS^oV^"h/Tj;vini'W"''i'^yf^ "^i^^^y- *»^at which concerns th^ 
 Person of the Divine Head of the Church. The work is well known 
 
 Vlteted at the Oazettr Swam Piiiitliig Ilouso, Sherbrooku.