n Matt. 28:1-10. The
same general principle applies to other difficulties--in the Old
Testament, that respecting the duration of the sojourn in Egypt, and
other chronological questions; in the New, that of the two genealogies
given of our Lord by Matthew and Luke, that of the day when our Lord ate
the passover with his disciples, etc. See further in Chaps. 19, Nos. 6
and 8; 20, No. 22; 29, Nos. 8-10.

8. In bringing this chapter to a conclusion, we add a few words on _the
office of reason_ in the interpretation of Scripture. It is admitted by
all that we have certain primitive intuitions which lie at the
foundation of all knowledge. That an immutable obligation, for example,
rests on all men to be truthful, just, benevolent, and grateful, is a
truth which we see by the direct light of conscience. There are certain
moral axioms, also, outside of the direct sphere of conscience, which
shine by their own light. Such is that fundamental truth of theology
thus announced by the apostle John: "God is light, and in him is no
darkness at all" (1 John 1:5); where light and darkness are both taken
in a moral sense, as the context shows; and thus by the apostle James:
"God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man" (Jas.
1:13); and thus, ages before, by Moses: "He is the Rock, his work is
perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without
iniquity, just and right is he" (Deut. 32:4); and still earlier by
Abraham: "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen. 18:25).
We are sure that no declaration of God's word, properly interpreted,
will contradict these necessary and universal convictions. But there are
many weighty truths that lie wholly above the sphere of our direct
intuitions on which the infinite understanding of God is alone competent
to pass an infallible judgment. Such are the following: If it be God's
will to create a race of intelligent beings, what shall be the compass
of their faculties, moral, intellectual, and physical? In what
circumstances and relations shall he place them, to what probation shall
he subject them, and what scope shall he allow to their finite freedom?
If they sin, what plan shall he devise for their redemption, and by what
processes shall he reveal and execute this plan? These, and many other
questions involving man's highest interests, lie above the sphere of
simple intuition. God alone, who looks through eternity at a glance, can
fully comprehend them, for