etail with shame as an act of penitence; it is a snare to speak of it
vaguely and in public.

5. Lastly, even when used rightly, the knowledge of sin is not without
its danger. As mediciners would not exist were there no illness or
disease, so it is mental disease which gives rise to casuists. Pain
leads us to think of our bodies, and sin of our souls. Were our souls
in perfect harmony, they would act like an instrument in tune; we
should with difficulty divide the sounds, even if we would; but it is
the discordance, the jar within us, which leads us to a serious
contemplation of what we are. The same remark obviously applies to a
great deal of theological knowledge, on which men who have it are
tempted to pride themselves; I mean exact knowledge of heresies and the
like. The love of God alone can give such knowledge its right
direction. There is the danger lest men so informed find themselves
scrutinizing when they should be adoring, reasoning when they should be
believing, comparing when they should be choosing, and proving when
they should be acting. We know two things of the Angels--that they cry
Holy, Holy, Holy, and that they do God's bidding. Worship and service
make up their blessedness; and such is our blessedness in proportion as
we approach them. But all exercises of mind which lead us to reflect
upon and ascertain our state; to know what worship is, and why we
worship; what service is, and why we serve; what our feelings imply,
and what our words mean, tend to divert our minds from the one thing
needful, unless we are practised and expert in using them. All proofs
of religion, evidences, proofs of particular doctrines, scripture
proofs, and the like,--these certainly furnish scope for the exercise
of great and admirable powers of mind, and it would be fanatical to
disparage or disown them; but it requires a mind rooted and grounded in
love not to be dissipated by them. As for truly religious minds, they,
when so engaged, instead of mere disputing, are sure to turn inquiry
into meditation, exhortation into worship, and argument into teaching.

Reflections such as these, followed up, show us how different is our
state from that for which God made us. He meant us to be simple, and
we are unreal; He meant us to think no evil, and a thousand
associations, bad, trifling, or unworthy, attend our every thought. He
meant us to be drawn on to the glories without us, and we are drawn
back and (as it wer