[1] "The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, _as
the waters cover the sea._" The expression is remarkable
for its force. In looking over the face of the ocean, no
differences are to be perceived: one part is not fuller
than the other; one part is not covered, and another left
dry; but all is one unbroken stream, filling and covering
the whole. So shall it be with the Word of God among men.
It shall not be known to some, and hidden from others. It
shall not be fully declared in one place, and only
partially set forth in another. Whatever knowledge it
pleased Him to give at all, shall be given to all men
equally and without distinction. Such is clearly the
purpose of God in His own appointed time.--_W. H. Sulivan._
_"As the waters cover the sea."_ The idea of universality
could scarcely have been better expressed than by this
magnificent simile. You have looked forth on the
illimitable expanse of waters with wonder and awe. Your
imagination has followed the depths far beyond the lowest
tide-line to the unfathomed valleys and caverns that form
the ocean bed; and you have endeavoured to take fully into
your mind the thought that the lowest depths and the most
distant shores were filled and covered by the all-diffusive
and all-searching element.--_Rawlinson._
[2] The knowledge of God comes into the soul as a king is born
into a country over which he is ultimately to rule; at the
beginning it is but a babe; for a long time it is weak, and
needs to be defended and nurtured; many years elapse before
it rules; rarely in this life does it exercise full power
and undisputed sway.
[3] Many evils continue to exist and flourish even in Christian
lands, because their contrariety to the character of God
has not yet been apprehended and felt. Many godly men were
slave-holders and slave-dealers, because they did not fully
know God. But now the knowledge of God has so grown among
men, that it is no longer possible in a Christian land for
a godly man to be a slave-holder. So with polygamy, which
was once practised without scruple by some of the noblest
and most devout men who ever lived. This practice has been
killed, not by any express prohibition, but by growth among
men of the knowledge of God. That knowledge is predestined
still further to grow, and to kill many things more.
[4] The text for this footnote was omitted. Transcriber.