RIGHT RELATION OF REASON TO RELIGION 221 



spiritual or supernatural, and eternal. Reason is 

 the organ of the natural man ; it is altogether of 

 this world, and has no light for the world to come. 

 Its function is merely instrumental, not at all law- 

 giving. It teaches us how the benefits of the visible 

 world may be won, or how they may be made to 

 serve even the aims set forth by religion ; but it is 

 silent as to the invisible world which is the end to 

 be served by the visible. Did we listen to reason 

 alone, as it really is, we should know of no world 

 but this world, and be led to deny the world ever- 

 lasting, to ignore and deny religion altogether. 



For — this Doctrine adds, by way of explanation — 

 it is the nature of reason, really, to concentrate all 

 its view on the "things that are seen," and yet to 

 assume that its compass embraces all being. Thus 

 extending its judgment into the invisible world, as 

 it is prone to do, it must of necessity contradict the 

 transcendent principles that reign there, and be in 

 its turn contradicted by them. The " evidence of 

 things unseen " is Faith ; and Faith means, that 

 reason has met and accepted its due rebuke from a 

 higher authority ; that it has made its submission 

 to Divine Revelation, which is and must be imme- 

 diate, without means, supernatural, supra-rational, 

 and, indeed, in the highest resort, contra-rational. 

 The first lesson of religion is, that what is im- 

 possible with man is possible with God, — " With 



