faith, he persecuted the disciples of Christ, and also when later on, after his conversion, he counted. it all joy to suffer for the Master's sake and to go to a martyr's death, if so it need be in order to advance the cause and kingdom of his new found Lord. He was a conscientious moral tiger to begin with as he was afterward a moral lamb. His conscience ruled him no less in the former case than in the latter, but it was a conscience which recognized its own imperfection and which was submissive to such light from on high as was given it. When that light increased, or when new light was shed abroad in his mind and heart, Paul accepted it and followed it with unfaltering fidelity and zeal. Thus the intolerant and blood thirsty foe of the Gospel of Jesus became its devoted, earnest, courageous champion; a sincere follower of the meek and lowly one of Nazareth, the foremost Apostle of the faith of Christ.

So must it be with all true disciples, with all members of the regenerate church. Conscience must be held sacred but not infallible. In its utmost sincerity it may mistake and lead one into serious error, possibly into great wrong, yet it is always to be respected, and fidelity to its demands is an imperative duty. And all the more imperative for the reason that only by such fidelity can the moral and spiritual progress of any human being be secured; can there be any such thing as growth of the divine life in the soul. One true to conscience will welcome the ever-increasing light which shines forth from the presence of the imma

nent Spirit of God and will be led by it to higher and still higher levels of experience and attainment continually.

But we must not confound conscience with the light that illumines, quickens, guides it along its ever-ascending way. Conscience is the human attribute or faculty that recognizes moral distinctions, asserts the supremacy of truth and righteousness, commends faithfulness to duty and condemns unfaithfulness, and counts itself a servant, never a master, of that divine light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. The light is the effluence of the spirit of truth, wisdom, and love, emanating from God to illume, rectify, and perfect all human capabilities and qualify them for the highest possible service of God and man. Regarding conscience with all proper honor and counting infidelity to its monitions. an offence worthy of severe reprobation, we are never to assume that our own or other people's consciences are the final authority in any case, but are themselves subject to a still higher power and a more trustworthy guidance the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit of Him who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and who is more willing and anxious to bestow His Holy Spirit upon those who desire it than are earthly parents to bestow good things upon their children. Therefore are all members of the true Christian church all learners in the school of Christ to be taught and pledged to be ever faithful to the dictates of conscience, and yet never to make it

a bar to higher divine illuminations, or allow its voice to drown the voice of the infinite Father of all souls. Rays of the eternal wisdom shining through the understanding and revealing the way of duty must govern and direct the conscience the absolutely true and right, represented in the will and law of God, must be supreme, now and forevermore.

Thus far and thus much concerning the six articles of belief which form the complex subject of discussion in the present discourse, and which I deem of sufficient theoretical and practical importance to be incorporated in the organic basis of my proposed Christian church. The soundness. of them I deem settled beyond all serious question by considerations which I have simply indicated in what I have said, without attempting to give them the elaboration of which they are capable, but which time and space will not allow me to indulge in under existing circumstances. I trust that the positions I have assumed, and the distinctive doctrines I have announced, will receive respectful and candid attention on the part of any who may be interested in building anew the Christian church on its original foundations, and that my suggested lines of argument therefor may be followed out to their legitimate conclusions.

But some will say, admitting that the several articles under notice are true and important, why not leave them to the good sense and better judgment of men; seeking to extend their acceptance and salutary influence by occasional reference

to them, or by the general inculcation of their essential spirit, without formulating them and enjoining them upon all who may be disposed to enter the proposed church; without incorporating them in a creed, and making them part and parcel of a definite statement of belief? For the reason that by so doing they would naturally fall out of notice, be ignored, neglected, treated as of no account; especially by the less thoughtful, conscientious, and devout of professors. Their value recognized, they should be made prominent, put in the foreground, kept ever in mind, and given pre-eminence in the organization of the church, as well as in sermons, exhortations, or other formal means of religious instruction, study, and improvement. As error has had place in the fundamental law of the church of the past, and been confirmed, strengthened, clothed with power thereby, so let it be with all vital truth in the church of the future the church of the new dispensation which the world so much needs, and for which the noblest and most Christlike souls in no far distant day will be ready to labor as well as to pray.

DISCOURSE XIII.

EXPOSITION OF PERSONAL RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Little children, let no man deceive you; he that doeth righteousness is righteous even as he is righteous — 1 John, iii, 7.

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The declaration of divine truth which I propose as the proper platform of the true church of Christ presents eight articles of Personal Righteousness, to be acknowledged as sacred and obligatory by all those who are in orderly, organic connection with it. In some of my earlier published writings they were stated in a more condensed form than is given them in the series of discourses now in hand, and in Vol. II of this work on Primitive Christianity they are discussed at considerable length, as the reader has probably already found, or may find, at his pleasure. What I have now to offer concerning them in the way of exposition, verification, and defence will vary somewhat from the presentation there made, and will, I trust, contribute to a more perfect understanding of my views touching the practical nature and value of the religion which I most earnestly desire to see restored to its original simplicity and purity.

The first principle, or doctrine of Personal Righteousness, as tabulated in the present volume, is stated thus: