Be
faithful, and fear no opposition. Free inquiry must lead to truth, and
truth is infinitely desirable. Assail error; assail men's inventions;
spare nothing but what is of God. It is God's own work you are doing; it
is the world's salvation for which you are laboring; and God's own
Spirit will guide you, and His power will keep you from harm." All this
was true; but it was truth without the needful accompaniment of pious
caution. It was true, but it was truth without the needful amount of
humility, of meekness, of gentleness, and of self-distrust. It was
truth, but it was truth put in such a form as to do the work of
falsehood. It was an appeal to pride, to self-conceit, to
self-sufficiency. It was truth presented in such a shape, as to abate
the sense of my dependence on God; as to make me forgetful of my own
imperfections; as to exclude from my mind all thoughts of danger, and so
prepare me for mistakes, mishaps, and ultimately ruin. It is not enough
to aim at good objects: we must be humble; we must be sensible that our
sufficiency is of God; we must be conscious of our own weakness, of our
own imperfections, and of our own danger, and move with care, and
watchfulness, and prayer. We must not please ourselves with thoughts of
the wonders we will achieve, of the services we will render to the
world, and of the honor we shall gain; but cherish the feeling that God
is all, and be content that He alone shall be glorified.
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