Before I knew the gospel I gathered up a heterogeneous mass of all kinds of knowledge from here, there, and everywhere: a bit of chemistry, a bit of botany, a bit of astronomy, and a bit of this, that, and the other. I put them altogether, in one great confused chaos.When I learned the gospel, I got a shelf in my head to put everything in its place, just where it should be.
It seemed to me as if, when I had discovered Christ and Him crucified–I had got the center of the system, so that I could see every other science revolving around in order.
From the earth, you know, the planets appear to move in a very irregular manner–some are progressive, retrograde, stationary, etc. But if you could get upon the sun, you would see them marching round in their constant, uniform, circular motion.
Likewise with human knowledge.
The old saying is, “Go from nature, up to nature’s God.” But it is hard work going up hill. The best thing is to go from nature’s God, down to nature. If you once get to nature’s God, and believe Him and love Him–it is surprising how easy it is to hear music in the waves, and songs in the wild whisperings of the winds; to see God everywhere–in the stones, in the rocks, in the rippling brooks; and to hear Him everywhere–in the lowing of cattle, in the rolling of thunder, and in the fury of tempests.
Get Christ first, put Him in the right place; and you will find Him to be the wisdom of God in your own experience.
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