hout the presence of God; but I presume a dog may live a
good dog-life without knowing the presence of his origin: man is dead if
he know not the Power which is his cause, his deepest selfing self; the
Presence which is not himself, and is nearer to him than himself; which
is infinitely more himself, more his very being, than he is himself. The
being of which we are conscious, is not our full self; the extent of our
consciousness of our self is no measure of our self; our consciousness
is infinitely less than we; while God is more necessary even to that
poor consciousness of self than our self-consciousness is necessary to
our humanity. Until a man become the power of his own existence, become
his own God, the sole thing necessary to his existing is the will of
God; for the well-being and perfecting of that existence, the sole thing
necessary is, that the man should know his maker present in him. All
that the children want is their Father.

The one true end of all speech concerning holy things is--the persuading
of the individual man to cease to do evil, to set himself to do well, to
look to the lord of his life to be on his side in the new struggle.
Supposing the suggestions I have made correct, I do not care that my
reader should understand them, except it be to turn against the evil in
him, and begin to cast it out. If this be not the result, it is of no
smallest consequence whether he agree with my interpretation or not. If
he do thus repent, it is of equally little consequence; for, setting
himself to do the truth, he is on the way to know all things. Real
knowledge has begun to grow possible for him.

I am not sure what the Lord means in the words, 'Thus it becometh us to
fulfil all righteousness.' Baptism could not be the fulfilling of all
righteousness! Perhaps he means, 'We must, by a full act of the will,
give ourselves altogether to righteousness. We must make it the business
of our lives to send away sin, and do the will of the Father. That is my
work as much as the work of any man who must repent ere he can begin. I
will not be left out when you call men to be pure as our father is
pure.'

To be certain whom he intends by _us_ might perhaps help us to see his
meaning. Does he intend _all of us men_? Does he intend 'my father and
me'? Or does he intend 'you and me, John'? If the saying mean what I
have suggested, then the _us_ would apply to all that have the knowledge
of good and evil. 'Every being that c