"The vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid."
One effect of the possession of a divine revelation is to put men's consciences under responsibility to God. Its happiest end is to bring the soul into association with God Himself-the God of goodness-and into a recognition and an approval of His counsels and ways.
That an authoritative communication of the mind of God must needs place those to whom it is given in a position of direct responsibility to Himself, is a truth so simple that it could never be controverted by a mind in which the true ideas of God, and a revelation from God, held their place. Still there is no principle which wrong notions of religion lead men so invariably, in practice at least, to set aside.
The reason of this, one has not far to seek, if his thoughts and inquiries are guided by revelation itself. It lies in that desire for independence arid self-aggrandizement which became the indelible characteristic of man with the fall. His proud efforts to achieve his own happiness may be shown indeed to be abortive as often as he is confronted by death: yet, of universal man, may it be said,-" This their way is their folly; yet their posterity approve their sayings."
His necessities may be pleaded as a ground for seeking to subordinate the domain of physical nature to his control; but the lust of domination which seeks to subjugate " the bodies and the souls of men," is the bitter fruit of an ambition which has no place in the universe of God, except as the companion and the consequence of sin.
Leaving aside, however, the path of those who spurn the idea of a revelation; and of those who only quarrel with it when it crosses their pursuits; it may be asserted, that where religion is the avowed business of men, and revelation is nominally received, there is nothing so infrequent as the recognition of the truth, that authority over the minds and consciences of men belongs alone to God.
Wherever religion or a formal Christianity. is maintained, there will, of necessity, be the setting aside of this authority, because other ends are in question besides those of restoring the soul to God and God to the soul. In Popery this is the all-pervading principle, and effectually neutralizes the power of every truth which yet exists in that enormous corruption of Christianity. For while the name and authority of revelation are used as a sanction of its arrogant assumptions, responsibility directly to God, in accordance with that revelation, is utterly and universally denied.
But apart from this, the walk of faith cannot be: and the liberty of the truth ceases to exist. When " the truth makes free," its characteristic is, that of entire independence of man, in order to absolute subjection to God.
The mischief of the reverse of this can hardly be estimated, since it is essential that God should be removed to a distance, that man may come in and fill up the space.
It is not an object in itself of the spirit of God doubtless to attack evil or to expose the errors of the professed teachers of religion; but in order to guard_ the souls of God's people against yielding to their authority, this is very unsparingly done both by the prophets in the Old Testament, and also in the Gospels by Christ Himself.
It was this which called forth the reprobation of the Lord, in the twenty-third chapter of Matthew, of those which sat in " Moses' seat." For while he enjoins upon the multitude and his disciples subjection to them as dispensers of the law (for this is the force of "sitting in Moses' seat"), and thus establishes the authority of God's revelation in whosesoever hands it may be found; He at the same time denounces woe upon woe against these " blind guides;" and deduces, their utter corruption, which he discloses in so many points, from this source; " All their works they do to be seen of men." As, in another place, He had said, "How can ye believe who receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor which cometh from God only?" And also in the fifteenth chapter of Matthew, He charges them, with making the commandment of God of none effect through their tradition: adding, in the words of the prophet, " Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, this people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
Now it is not so much the particular errors that were taught, that are aimed at in this passage, as the ground and source from whence all error flows: "Their fear towards me is taught by the precept of men." Or, as it is quoted by the Lord, "Teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
Even truth ceases to have the power of truth, when it is taught by the precept of men; though error, in a greater or less degree, necessarily marks the stream that flows from man's authority as its source.
The evil of this principle, which is all but universal in the religious teaching of the present day, is, that it deprives the word of God of its just authority; puts man, in relation to the conscience, in the place of God; and extinguishes, both in the teachers and the taught, the capacity to judge aright of the revelations which the word of God contains. " Their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men; THEREFORE will I proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid."
" If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine." But if a right aim be not actuating the heart, the word of God cannot be allowed to speak its simple meaning. " The light that is in us becomes darkness;" and then both learning and ignorance must be content to look around for an excuse for not being able to understand what is simple enough to an obedient heart. "The secret of The Lord is with them that fear him." "None of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand."
The difficulties of revelation are not the real stumbling-blocks in the path of the enquirers after truth. Greater difficulties are overcome in the investigations of philosophy and science; because in these cases the bias of the heart offers no barrier to a just conclusion. But as regards the revelation of God, a moral condition of heart is enough to induce men "to turn away their ears from the truth, and be turned unto fables."
It was the moral condition of both the teachers and the taught, visited, no doubt, by a judicial blindness, which gave occasion for the application of the words; " The vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this I pray thee; and he saith, I cannot, for it is sealed: and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this I pray thee; and he saith, I am not learned."
Thus both learning and ignorance have at hand a ready excuse, for not being able to understand what the heart has no disposition to obey. The most opposite grounds are adduced; but this only serves to show, that it is the heart's subterfuge to get rid of a responsibility it is not prepared to own; and its effort to silence a voice, which if listened to, would only condemn.
Learning seldom owns itself at fault, or confesses that there are any arcana which it cannot penetrate, except when it is called to understand or teach the word of God.
And on the other hand, the want of learning is seldom pleaded by the illiterate as a disqualification for not understanding anything but the word of God.
But the authority of revelation being thus disposed of, and religion still pursued-for it is added, " this people draw near to me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me"-there remains only this, to " teach for doctrines the commandments of men."
Now it was against these " commandments of men," or the traditionary teachings of the Scribes and Pharisees, that the Lord directs (Mark 7) the force of this passage of the prophet; declaring that they made the word of God of none effect through their traditions; and even stronger than this, that they rejected the commandment of God that they might keep their own tradition. And he instances a case in confirmation of the charge of so flagrant a character, as to make the sensitive heart recoil from even a momentary allowance of a principle, which might land the soul in so fearful a conclusion: " Moses said, Honor thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye."
But in the parallel passage in Matt. 15, the opposition is even more direct. "GOD commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But YE say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition."
Alas! there is no corruption like that which, while it professedly honors God, under the guise of respect for tradition, sets aside the only revelation of his will, and perverts the only standard by which truth and error can be ascertained.
It matters nothing as to the importance or insignificance of the point about which tradition is concerned; its mischief is still the same.
Nothing could be more indifferent in itself than eating bread with washed or unwashed hands;-but it was in this simple matter that the principle lurked which set aside the plainest commands of the word of God, that the authority of man might be established.
The evil of the principle is this, that the teaching being from man, it reaches, and can reach, only to the notions and aims and objects of man. It never can reach, even when it does not seem to oppose, the height of God's thoughts; whether of his holiness or his grace. Consequently it can never have the authority of God by his Spirit, nor the sanction of God by his blessing: while it seems superfluous to add, that to the soul the prime blessing of the death of Christ is lost. For " he suffered for sins once, the just for the unjust, that he might bring-US TO GOD."
As to all apostolic, or successional, or traditional authority, the Apostle declares that he was " an Apostle not of men, nor by men, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead;" and so the character Of all authoritative teaching is the same. It is directly from God, and challenges obedience to God, for which His blessed revelation is the direct and only rule. " They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them!" While in the 2nd of Peter it is said-" No prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.' Why? Because "the prophecy came not in old time (or at any time) by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
It is true, both in the prophet and in our Lord's application of this passage, the censure it contains falls mainly on the teachers of these traditions; but it must not be supposed that the responsibility of such a state of things rested with them alone. It is said-"This people draweth nigh unto me," etc. And again (in Jer. 5:30, 3130A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; 31The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof? (Jeremiah 5:30‑31))-" A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so."
It is seldom that error is taught for error's sake. Ff the most part, it is a consequence of a previous state c corruption, in teachers and taught. Aaron, indeed, mad the object of idolatry when he fashioned the golden calf but it was only to meet the idolatrous feelings of Israel before which his heart, through lack of faith, has quailed.
Where faith does not come in to give God, at al costs, His place, as in the three Jews before the golden image in the plains of Dura, there is nothing left but to seek to lower things to a human standard, and then to cover the corruption with the pretended sanction of revelation, whose authority has in reality been destroyed.
O did the children of God but know how much hangs upon it, how would they seek that God and His revelations might remain in their integrity! For here; and here alone, is found the power to bring heaven and heavenly glory to the soul. And here too alone are the springs and power of a life and walk of faith; and here is the only power by which the poor heart of man can be delivered from the mazes of a multiform error, and the wretched trammels of a growing superstition.
But this would be "to put forth the precious from the vile," which God's mouth always does.
But if otherwise, whether the fault be most with the teachers or most with the taught, there is but this melancholy conclusion for each-" If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch."