From the account he gave of the
discoveries he then made, I venture to represent them in the driest
and most exact form that I can find they will admit of. When I use
the word discoveries, I need hardly say that I use it with reference
to Falconer and his previous knowledge. They were these:--that
Jesus taught--
First,--That a man's business is to do the will of God:
Second,--That God takes upon himself the care of the man:
Third,--Therefore, that a man must never be afraid of anything;
and so,
Fourth,--be left free to love God with all his heart, and his
neighbour as himself.
But one day, his thoughts having cleared themselves a little upon
these points, a new set of questions arose with sudden
inundation--comprised in these two:--
'How can I tell for certain that there ever was such a man? How am
I to be sure that such as he says is the mind of the maker of these
glaciers and butterflies?'
All this time he was in the wilderness as much as Moses at the back
of Horeb, or St. Paul when he vanishes in Arabia: and he did nothing
but read the four gospels and ponder over them. Therefore it is not
surprising that he should have already become so familiar with the
gospel story, that the moment these questions appeared, the
following words should dart to the forefront of his consciousness to
meet them:--
'If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether
it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
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