Chapter 22: The Necessity of Divine Teaching you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." If it be true, that God has made these unlimited promises, that all men, who will ask of him may have divine illumination as much as they will ask for, then it is true that all men may have as much of divine illumination as they need.
V. I will show the reasons why any do not have as much divine illumination as they need.
1. They do not ask for it in such a manner or degree as they need it.
2. They ask amiss, or from selfish motives.
The apostle James says, "Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it on your lusts." When an individual has a selfish motive for asking, or some other reason than a desire to glorify God, he need not expect to receive divine illumination. If his object in asking for the Holy Ghost, is that he may always be happy in religion, or that he may be very wise in the scriptures, or be looked upon as an eminent Christian, or have his experience spoken of as remarkable, or any other selfish view, that is a good reason why he should not receive even what he asks.
3. They do not use the proper means to attain what they ask.
Suppose a person neglects his Bible, and yet asks God to give him a knowledge of the things of religion: that in tempting God. The manner in which God gives knowledge is through the Bible, and the other appointed means of instruction. If a person will not use these means, when they are in his power, however much he may pray, he need not expect divine instruction. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
There is an important difference to be observed, between the cases of those who possess these means, and those who do not. I suppose that a person may learn the gospel, and receive all the illumination he needs, under any circumstances of privation of means. As if he was on a desolate island, he might receive direct illumination from the Spirit of God. And so he might, in any other circumstances, where he absolutely could not have access to any means of instruction. Some very remarkable cases of this kind have occurred within a few years. I have known one case, which I looked upon at the time as miraculous, and for that reason have seldom mentioned it, feeling that even the church were not prepared to receive it.
When I was an evangelist, I labored once in a revival, in a neighborhood where there were many Germans.
They had received but little instruction, and many of them could not read. But when the gospel was preached among them, the Spirit of God was poured out, and a most powerful revival followed. In the midst of the harvest, if a meeting, was appointed at any place, the whole neighborhood would come together, and fill the house, and hang upon the preacher's lips, while he tried to possess their minds with the truth of the gospel. One poor
German woman naturally intelligent, but who could not read, in relating her experience in one of these meetings, told this fact which was certified to by her neighbors. With many