But, while we rejoice in this simple and childlike Christian faith, it is vain to deny that in “the deep things of God” there are difficulties, and that there are other minds to whom these difficulties are a source of real and grave perplexity. I am not now speaking of those who delight in magnifying difficulties, and whose only object in reading their Bible is to find out something at which they may cavil; but I am speaking rather of thoughtful men who respect religion, and are not opposed to truth; who have never set their face against the Gospel; and to whom it would be a real cause of heartfelt thanksgiving if they were able to receive, in the simplicity of faith, the great salvation revealed to them in the Word of God. They have no wish to be unbelievers; their hearts are not set against the truth; and they believe enough to make them long to believe _the whole_. But there are some things that perplex them, and there are certain difficulties which they cannot quite get over. Now, without the slightest hesitation or disguise, I fully and frankly admit that there are very serious difficulties in the revelation of God, and difficulties which I believe it is not in the power of the human intellect to solve. When, therefore, a person says that he cannot understand all that is revealed, I agree with him. If he add that on that account he cannot believe, I altogether dissent from his conclusion; but as to the existence of difficulties he is undoubtedly right. We, who believe, know perfectly well, and fully admit, that there are things in divine revelation which we are altogether unable either to explain or understand. Think, for example, of the divinity of our blessed Lord and Saviour, and the perfect union of a divine and human nature in His one sacred person. I am not afraid to state plainly my firm conviction that no human intellect can explain it. If He were only an appearance of God Himself that would be intelligible; or if He were only man endued with very high qualifications, that again would be within our reach; but that He should be in His one person both perfect God and perfect man, or, in other words, both infinite and finite, that I believe to be far beyond the reach of _human_ explanation. It is the same with the doctrine of election, and its union with human responsibility. The two appear to be opposed to each other, but, notwithstanding that, they are both found in the Gospel. How can it be explained? How can it be? I cannot tell. Some people meet the difficulty by cutting out one side, and some by cutting out the other; but neither one process of excision nor the other can satisfy a really thinking mind. And the difficulty remains, for we find both sides in Scripture.