HOW THE TEACHER IS TAUGHT. 278

being of God, as the consequence of our nature, yet nothing but
divine revelation can form the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and of
a redemption purchased for us, of a Mediator of the new covenant,
and of an Intercessor at the footstool of God’s throne ;—I say,
nothing but a revelation from Heaven can form these in the soul;
and that, therefore, the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, I mean the Word of God, and the Spirit of God, promised
for the guide and sanctifier of his people, are the absolutely
necessary instructors of the souls of men in the saving knowledge
of God and the means of salvation.

I therefore diverted the present discourse between me and my
man, rising up hastily, as upon some sudden occasion of going
out; then sending him for something a good way off, I seriously
prayed to God that he would enable me to instruct savingly this
poor savage; assisting, by his Spirit, the heart of the poor ignorant
creature to receive the light of the knowledge of God in Christ,
reconciling him to himself; and would guide me to speak so to him
from the Word of God, as his conscience might be convinced, his
eyes opened, and his soul saved. When he came again to me I
entered into a long discourse with him upon the subject of the
redemption of man by the Saviour of the world, and of the
doctrine of the gospel preached from Heaven; namely, of repent-
ance towards God and faith in our blessed Lord Jesus. I then
explained to him, as well as I could, why our blessed Redeemer
took not on him the nature of angels, but the seed of Abraham,
and how, for that reason, the fallen angels had no share in the
redemption; that he came only to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel, and the like.

I had, God knows, more sincerity than knowledge in all the
methods I took for this poor creature’s instruction; and must
acknowledge, what I believe all that act upon the same principle
will find, that, in laying things open to him, I really informed and
instructed myself in many things that either I did not know or
had not fully considered before, but which occurred naturally to
my mind upon my searching into them for the information of this
poor savage. And I had more affection in my inquiry after things
upon this occasion than ever I felt before; so that whether this