Limit to Theological Knowledge
R. Ainslie. Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong to the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children for ever… Everything now unknown is not to be considered as belonging to the secret things of God, and unfathomable by man. Every day is revealing to us some things and facts of which we were ignorant. We have the largest, the freest, the most highly trained intellects everywhere exploring nature on the soundest philosophical principles, and with the aid of mechanical and scientific appliances unknown to the men of ancient times. The discoveries of the last half century have propelled civilisation with a speed which, if it had been predicted to our ancestors, would have been deemed fabulous. And yet we are only learning the letters of the alphabet of unknown knowledge. God has created, and will yet create, men whose genius, constitutional temperament, and gigantic intellect shall explore and explain the unknown parts and races of our own planet, investigate still further the laws of the universe, bring everything that has had life (not excluding man), and everything that has not had life, either under anatomical, telescopic, microscopic, or chemical investigation, and every revelation that the explorer can give to us, based upon facts, will illustrate the wisdom, power, and goodness of the Creator, and contribute to the well-being and advancement of mankind. But there are yet secret things, known only to God, which men have employed themselves for ages to discover, and have failed. One is, the essence and nature of God. We speak of God as the First Cause, the absolute Being, the infinite One, but the discussion even of these terms soon places before us contradictions necessarily involved in their use. The soul of man, its origin, varied power, and duration, is another secret thine, known only to God. The moral evil, the physical suffering, the mental degradation and moral debasement of the races of mankind for thousands of years, under the dominion and rule of a benevolent and merciful God — these are secrets the reason of whose existence we have no power to reveal. Our text tells us there are things which are revealed, and that they belong to us and to our children forever. The first great doctrine of revelation is the oneness of God. The incomprehensible God, the Creator and Ruler of all worlds, we adore and love. It is the surrender of the mind, the culture of the affections, and a life obedient to the will of heaven that are required of us, and though we often fail, even our failures may be expressive of progress, and of our earnest desire to lead a spiritual and holy life such as Christ lived. It is also revealed to us that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son," etc. In the Gospels we have the history, the doctrines, the commandments of Jesus, and His relationship to mankind. There must be no selfishness in our reception of Christianity. If we embrace it cordially, if we believe the Christian faith to be the truest, purest, and most powerful; if it will give light to the understanding, love and piety to the heart, integrity to the life; if it will make man benevolent, generous, unselfish, self-sacrificing, and will lead him to God for the forgiveness of his sins, then it is a faith, a Divine religion, which we ought not only to embrace, but to propagate by every means we possess. We have also other revelations; one is of law, summed up by Jesus in the love of God and of our neighbour. The physical and moral penalties of violating the laws of our nature and the laws of God are also revealed to us. The fact of a Divine Providence over mankind and all creatures, and over all human affairs, was plainly revealed by Jesus Christ. And the fact of its existence is almost all we know of it. Other facts and doctrines are disclosed to us, and the great purpose is, to bring our hearts and lives under the authority of God, that we may be the children of our Father who is in heaven. This was the aim and end of Christ's teaching, example, prayers, and of His life and death. Nothing less than conformity to the spirit, the love, the virtue and holiness, and the benevolent deeds of Jesus, can make us worthy to bear His honoured name. The inference drawn by the writer of the text from the subject under consideration was this: "that we may do all the words of this law." We have habitually to recognise the fact that secret things belong unto the Lord our God. Whatever belongs to the infinite, which is not revealed, is far, far beyond us; and it is not profitable to spend our time habitually on that which is and ever must be beyond our grasp. Thank God, the path of life and the path of duty are both equally plain and intelligible. In doing all the words of this law, we must remember that satisfaction and happiness may be attained from the Christianity we in common profess. The Bible contains solace for the troubled heart and comfort for the wounded spirit. (R. Ainslie.) Parallel Verses KJV: The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law. WEB: The secret things belong to Yahweh our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.