even reflect that he was graduating for a strait-waistcoat?
The fellow is simply an ignorant dogmatist. What he believes you must
believe. Reasons for his belief he has none, and he cannot conceive that
you want any either. Yet it would never do to exclaim, "I am your lord
and master," so the grown-up puppy shouts "Thus saith the Lord," in
order to assure you that in rejecting him you reject God.

Suppose we heckle this loud-mouthed preacher for a minute. "You tell us,
Thus saith the Lord. Did he say so to you, and where and when? And
are you quite sure you did not dream the whole business?" Probably
he answers, "No, the Lord did not say it to me, but he said it to the
blessed prophets and apostles, and I am only repeating their words."
"Very well then," a sensible man would reply, "you are in the
second-hand business, and I want new goods. You had better send on the
original traders--Moses, Isaiah, Paul and Co.--and I'll see what I can
do with them." If, however, the preacher says, "Yes, the Lord did say
it to me," a sensible man replies, "Well, now, I should have thought the
Lord would have told somebody with more reputation and influence. Still,
what you assert may be true. I don't deny it, but at the same time your
word is no proof. On the whole, I think I'll go my way and let you go
yours. The Lord has told you something, and you believe it; when he
tells me, I'll believe it too. I suppose the Lord told you because he
wanted you to know, and when he wants me to know I suppose he'll give
me a call. What you got from him is first-hand, what I get from you is
second-hand; and, with all due respect, I fancy your authority is hardly
equal to the Almighty's." "Thus saith the Lord" is no argument. It is
simply

The dark lanthorn of the spirit
Which none can see by but those who bear it.

Nay more, it dispenses with reason, and makes every man's faith depend
on somebody else's authority. Discussion becomes impertinence, criticism
is high treason. Hence it is but a step from "Thus saith the Lord."
Very impolite language, truly, yet it is the logical sequence of
dogmatism, Fortunately the time is nearly past for such impudent
nonsense. This is an age of debate. And although there are many windy
platitudes abroad, and much indulgence in empty mouthing, the very fact
of debate being considered necessary to the settlement of all questions
makes the public mind less hasty and more cautious. "Thus saith the
Lord" me