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be reflected upon all the other facts connected with it. It is by this light, and by this light only, that clearness can ever be brought into the dark recesses of metaphysical science; by this light-apprehended, of course, not in word and letter merely, but in life and spirit-the facts of man's immortal nature, the operations of his soul, hitherto, enveloped in such deep mystery-will become as accessible to inquiry, as easy of comprehension, as any the most common fact of natural philosophy has hitherto been. We pride ourselves much in the certainty of our knowledge in those matters, which admit of the evidence of the senses, forgetting that the senses are the most fallible part of us; but how much greater that certainty, which would have for its foundation the evidence of divine light, enlightening the faculties of our soul, if we knew but how to submit our scientific investigations to the influence of that light. It is undeniably a proof of the deep hold which corruption has upon man's nature, that after so clear a revelation of spiritual things, as the Christian dispensation involves, man should still be bold enough to seek for any knowledge on human ground-that he should still have sciences not comprehended within the range of divine knowledge; that he should still consider the knowledge, which God imparts by his Spirit, less comprehensive than that, which man acquires, as he supposes, by his own faculties; or rather, that he should still attribute to his own faculties any of that knowledge, the source of which has been so distinctly pointed out to him. I trust, however, that this dark period is now at its close; the conviction is firm upon my mind, that it will form part of that great reform, to which I am looking forward, that all knowledge whatsoever, whether it concern the things of God, or the things of man, or outward creation, will be derived from, and attributed to, the one universal source of all light and life, to Him, in whom we live and move, and have our being-so that, not only with regard to what is called religious knowledge, but with regard to all knowledge, of every de

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scription, the prophecy will be fulfilled, that they shall all be taught of the Lord. Then will the distinction between religious and worldly knowledge cease, inasmuch as, then, all knowledge will be religious. This reform will require, on the part of the unbelieving world, a deep humiliation of that proud and vain spirit, which attributes to the 'light of reason' all praise and glory.; and on the part of the believing world, no less a humiliation of that doctrinal and unwarrantable conceit, which opposes itself to the farther teachings of the Spirit of God, on the ground of what He has taught already. If it be asked, in what department of human knowledge that reform is to begin, the answer is, decidedly in the knowledge of man's mental and moral powers; as that knowledge, which declares itself, although it is not, independent of the divine light, began with the knowledge of the things that are without, so will that new knowledge, which is, avowedly and consciously derived from that light, begin with the knowledge of the things that are within.

Then we shall hear no longer of the philosophy of the human mind, which attributes to the faculties of the soul an innate power of action, either collectively or individually; for the faculties will then be distinguished, as they ought to be, from the powers that move them. Much of the ignorant arrogance of the rationalists, much of the confusion of religionists, might be avoided by this distinction alone. The former would be less confident in the infallibility of their conclusions, when drawn according to the laws of thinking; and the latter would not practically disavow, in part, the important doctrine of the fall, by the unwarrantable supposition that our reasoning faculties do not partake in a corruption, which is represented as being confined to our feelings. It would then be seen, that our faculties, whether they be faculties of reason, or of moral feeling, or of conscience, have not in themselves any positive power or impulse of action, and, consequently, neither a good nor an evil tendency;—for where there is no tendency

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at all, how can there be a determination ?-but that they are all brought into action, and kept in it, either by the evil spirit of man, which, in his fallen condition, is his natural impulse, or by the good Spirit of God, which was his natural impulse in his original state, and will be so again in a state of perfect regeneration—and that, consequently, his reason is fallacious, or consistent with truth, his moral feeling defiled or pure, his conscience sophisticated or conformable to the standard of righteousness, according to the spirit by which they are governed. The practical consequence of this view, with reference to education, is obvious; viz., the duty of the parent or teacher to restrain, as far as possible, the evil spirit of man from swaying the faculties of the child; and to manifest to the child, in conversation and conduct, in instruction and discipline, those virtues which are the effect of the operations of the good Spirit of God upon man's soul,—that the evil spirit in the child may not find in his parent or teacher that with which it can hold communication, and so may be forced, at least in a measure, to give way to the impulses of that good spirit, in which alone the child ought to be linked together with those who undertake the care of his education.

:

Another important truth, connected with this view of psychology, is, the centralization of all the faculties of the soul, in one point of harmony, for one universal purpose. Different purposes are commonly assigned to different faculties and, although, in the present state of man, this may appear to be the case, it ought not to be forgotten, that this is a consequence of the fall, in which the original purpose, as well as the original impulse, was lost, as far, at least, as man's own will and knowledge are concerned. The evil spirit of self, which sways man in that condition, finding a world of faculties, a microcosm, in the soul, corresponding with the universe of creation, but rejecting the purpose for which they were given, uses them as instruments, by which the universe may be turned into a rich

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source of self-gratification. They were given, as so many channels, through which the soul, internally united with God, and enlivened by him, might commune with him, in his creation, which is the vesture of his glory: but, in his fallen condition, man perverts these channels to the drinking in of all the influences of creation, with a view to sustain, enrich, and enlarge the false life, which the soul has without God. He has rejected the power, to which they ought to be subservient. Unable to keep them in harmony, by his evil spirit, he engages them in the service of the created things, after the enjoyment of which, self thirsteth, and thus, unawares, he himself, and his rebellious spirit, fall under the bondage of the things that were made. Hence the appearance of a peculiar purpose, to every faculty of man's nature, which is owing to nothing but this inversion of the original order. According to God's intention, the whole creation would have ministered to the divine life in man, through the faculties of man, these being in subservience to the divine life; but, by the fall, it pass, that the faculties of man are the slaves of creation, and man himself the slave of his faculties, and, through them, of every created thing. The task which education has to perform, in this state of things, is again obvious. Education has, avowedly, for its object, to give employment to the different faculties of the soul; to direct their action, and furnish materials for their exercise: whence it follows, that these materials must be of such a nature, and must be presented in such a manner, as to offer no nutriment to the spirit of self;—but that, by the choice of the objects of instruction, as well as by the method adopted in conveying it, the faculties are to be turned back, as it were, upon that indwelling centre of harmony, from which they are turned away, and devoted again to their original purpose.

came to

Nothing can be more sublime, or more edifying, because nothing more illustrative of the wisdom and goodness of God, than the view of the mental and moral organization

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of man, when seen in this light. From the lowest stage of perception, when fixed upon individual facts, to the highest degree of illumination, when apprehending the universal, omnipresent, and ever-living spirit, there is a regular, well connected progress of intellectual and spiritual life. The same order, the same harmony, which we admire in God's creation, as far as it is opened to our view, prevail in the mind of man, when properly regulated. The lower things are ministering to things that are higher, and all are prostrated before the One, whose glories are unspeakable.

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To behold this divine spectacle, and, still more, to act in the spirit of it, we must forget every purpose under the sun;-for "all the works that are done under the sun," are vanity and vexation of spirit." And, because they are so, it is impossible, that any of the faculties of man's immortal soul, should have them for their object. That which is imperishable, cannot be made for the sake of that which is perishable, for it is against nature, that is to say, against the order of things, as established by God, that any thing should outlive its purpose.

What are the earthly ends which man proposes to himself, such as the improvement of his domicile, the enjoyment of comforts, or the acquisition of wealth, large possessions, or an extensive acquaintance with nature—what are all those things which man can acquire, or possess, or enjoy on this earth? What are they but vanity and vexation of spirit? Are they not all perishable? Does not their lustre, in most instances, wear off even before the short-lived career of the deluded pilgrim is concluded? And though they might continue, to the last moment of life, to afford gratification, and to retain a stimulating and exciting influence, what remains of them and of their influence when the hand of death closes the scenes of this earth upon us,-when all its treasures must be abandoned,—and all its purposes are defeated by the failing of a breath?

Or, what are the social ends by which our existence is