were on his own side. Valiant would have died for the truth without a
murmur. But, with all that, Valiant had to learn a hard and a cruel
lesson. He had to learn that he, the best friend of truth as he thought
he was, was at the same time, as a matter of fact, the greatest enemy
that the truth had. He had to take home the terrible discovery that no
man had hurt the truth so much as he had done. Save me from my friend!
the truth was heard to say, as often as she saw him taking up his weapons
in her behalf. We see all that every day. We see Wildhead at his
disservice of the truth every day. Sometimes above his own name, and
sometimes with grace enough to be ashamed to give his name, in the
newspapers. Sometimes on the platform; sometimes in the pulpit; and
sometimes at the dinner-table. But always to the detriment of the truth.
In blind fury he rushes at the character and the good name of men who
were servants of the truth before he was born, and whose shield he is not
worthy to bear. How shall Wildhead be got to see that he and the like of
him are really the worst friends the truth can possibly have? Will he
never learn that in his wild-bull gorings at men and at movements, he is
both hurting himself and hurting the truth as no sworn enemy of his and
of the truth can do? Will he never see what an insolent fool he is to go
on imputing bad motives to other men, when he ought to be prostrate
before God on account of his own? More than one wild-headed student of
William Law has told me what a blessing they have got from that great
man's teaching on the subject of controversy. Will the Wildheads here to-
night take a line or two out of that peace-making author and lay them to
heart? "My dear L-, take notice of this, that no truths, however solid
and well-grounded, will help you to any divine life, but only so far as
they are taught, nourished, and strengthened by an unction from above;
and that nothing more dries and extinguishes this heavenly unction than a
talkative reasoning temper that is always catching at every opportunity
of hearing or telling some religious matters. Stop your ears and shut
your eyes to all religious tales . . . I would no more bring a false
charge against a deist than I would bear false witness against an
apostle. And if I knew how to do the deists more justice in debate I
would gladly do it . . . And as the gospel requires me to be as glad to
see piety, equity, strict sobriety, and extensive charity in a Jew or a
Gentile as in a Christian; as it obliges me to look with pleasure upon
their virtues, and to be thankful to God that such persons have so much
of true and sound Christianity in them; so it cannot be an unchristian
spirit to be as glad to see truths in one party of Christians as in
another, and to look with pleasure upon any good doctrines that are held
by any sect of Christian people, and to be thankful to God that they have
so much of the genuine saving truths of the gospel among them . . .
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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