the word of God is an infallible rule
of faith, yet it requires interpreting, and why, as time goes on,
should we not discover in it more than we at present know on the
subject of religion and morals?

But this is hardly a question of practical importance to us as
individuals; for in truth a very little knowledge is enough for
teaching a man his duty: and, since Scripture is intended to teach us
our duty, surely it was never intended as a storehouse of mere
knowledge. Discoveries then in the details of morals and religion, by
means of the inspired volume, whether possible or not, must not be
looked out for, as the expectation may unsettle the mind, and take it
off from matters of duty. Certainly all curious questions at least are
forbidden us by Scripture, even though Scripture may be found adequate
to answer them.

This should be insisted on. Do we think to become better men by
knowing more? Little knowledge is required for religious obedience.
The poor and rich, the learned and unlearned, are here on a level. We
have all of us the means of doing our duty; we have not the _will_, and
this no knowledge can give. We have need to subdue our own minds, and
this no other person can do for us. The case is different in matters
of learning and science. There others can and do labour for us; we can
make use of _their_ labours; we begin where they ended; thus things
progress, and each successive age knows more than the preceding. But
in religion each must begin, go on, and end, for himself. The
religious history of each individual is as solitary and complete as the
history of the world. Each man will, of course, gain more knowledge as
he studies Scripture more, and prays and meditates more; but he cannot
make another man wise or holy by his own advance in wisdom or holiness.
When children cease to be born children, because they are born late in
the world's history, when we can reckon the world's past centuries for
the age of this generation, then only can the world increase in real
excellence and truth as it grows older. The character will always
require forming, evil will ever need rooting out of each heart; the
grace to go before and to aid us in our moral discipline must ever come
fresh and immediate from the Holy Spirit. So the world ever remains in
its infancy, as regards the cultivation of moral truth; for the
knowledge required for practice is little, and admits of little
increase, except in the case of in