light to his path."[1] By this means, he was once more put into possession of a fixed standard of truth. That light of truth, which, in the present disordered state of his mind, he could not receive from within, was now, in the Divine mercy, put into a visible form and brought to his eyes from without. There the precious Volume lies before him, and he can go to it at will and receive instruction; there he can see the path to heaven distinctly pointed out; there he can, as it were, hear the Divine voice loudly calling to him, and appealing to him by his love for his own soul, to walk in the good way and be saved.
Within the limits of the Christian world, this Revealed Word, this Divine Standard of Truth, is now generally received and acknowledged[2]; and hence we all have, or may attain, right views in regard to the most important subjects of thought; such as the true nature and character of our Divine Creator, the purposes for which He has made us, and the part which we have to perform in order to the full accomplishment of those purposes. On all these points we are instructed, more or less correctly, more or less perfectly, from our earliest childhood. To give such instruction
- ↑ Psalm cxix. 105.
- ↑ In those parts of the earth, which the Revealed Word has not yet reached, the Lord has provided other lights, especially the light of: traditional knowledge, as man's guide; which,—though in comparison with the Divine Word but a glimmering lamp compared with the sun,—yet is sufficient to guide the humble and sincere seeker to the mansions of life: for "in every nation, he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted of Him" (Acts x. 35).—"The Gentiles, having not the law, are a law unto themselves " (Romans ii. 14, 15).
