ously declared that "the Lord hath not
forsaken them that seek Him," and that "He hath not said to the seed of
Jacob, Seek ye my face in vain"? Which is entitled to the greater
weight, the testimony of Mr. Holyoake, or that of the Psalmist, "I
waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined unto me, and heard my
cry;" or that of the prophet, "I cried by reason of mine affliction unto
the Lord, and He heard me: out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou
heardest my voice: When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord,
and my prayer came in unto Thee into thine holy temple;" or that of the
apostle, "For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might
depart from me; and He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee,
for my strength is made perfect in weakness"?[303] A cry for help may
not be "the prayer of faith," but the utterance of an unsubdued and
rebellious will, and can afford no test, therefore, of the truth of the
doctrine of Scripture.

But "Science," says Mr. Holyoake, "is the providence of life, and
spiritual dependence may be attended with material destruction." He
would substitute, therefore, the Science of man for the Providence of
God, and secular _diligence_ for spiritual _dependence_. But is there no
room for both? Are they necessarily incompatible or mutually exclusive?
Why should the Science of man be opposed to the Providence of God, or
secular industry to religious faith? All Christians combine the two; why
should Mr. Holyoake seek to divorce them? What is Science? It is "the
well-devised method of using Nature; it is in this that Science is the
providence of man. It is not pretended that Science is a perfect
dependence; on the contrary, it is admitted to be narrow and but
partially developed; but it is the only special dependence that man
has."[304] And is the _wise use of Nature_ inconsistent with Religion?
is it the exclusive monopoly of Atheism? Or is spiritual dependence
necessarily incompatible with industrial pursuits? Who have been the
most scientific and the most industrious members of the community, the
small band of Atheists, or the great body of Christians? To the latter
belong all the advantages which Science, or the wise use of Nature, can
secure, while they have _besides_ a Providence, distinct from Nature and
superior to it, whose wakeful eye never slumbers, and whose ear is ever
open to their cry.

5. Secularism seeks to supersede Religion, and to substitute _morality_