"Teach  me  to  do  Thy  will!'  I  want  more  than
a  fine  sense  of  moral  distinctions.  I  need  more
than  a  rare  perception  of  right.  I  need  to  know
the  best  way  to  accomplish  it.  There  are  wise
and  unwise  ways  of  seeking  the  sovereignty  of  the
right.  I  may  fail  of  the  end  by  using  indiscreet
means.     I   require  not  only  a  trained  conscience,

28


Spiritual   Culture^

but  an  illumined  judgment.     I  need  to  be  taught
how  "  to  do!'

'7  delight  to  do  Thy  wilir  That  marks  a  still
more  matured  stage  in  discipleship.  When  the
soul  instinctively  and  joyfully  inclines  to  the  way
of  obedience,  the  life  has  reached  a  stage  of  rare
fruition.
§  And  so  the  scattered  verses  of  my  text
arrange  themselves  in  a  heightening  gradation,
and  together  express  the  spacious  com^pass  of  a
consecrated  Hfe.  "Teach  me  Thy  way" — the
training  of  the  conscience.  "  Teach  me  to  do  Thy
will" — the  illumination  of  the  judgment.  "I
delight  to  do  Thy  will " — the  rectification  of  the
will.
L    The  Training  of  the  Conscience.
"  Teach  me  Thy  way."  The  conscience  is  the
organ  through  which  the  Lord  makes  known  to
me  His  way,  and  unveils  the  primary  distinctions
between  right  and  wrong.  The  more  refined  and
highly  trained  is  the  organ,  the  more  exquisite
will  be  its  perceptions.  The  greater  sensitiveness
of  the  telephonic  receiver  has  vivified  the  clearness
and  the  detail  of  the  message.  But  the  organ  of
conscience  can  be  impaired  and  its  receptivity
largely  destroyed.
29


Brooks   by  the   Traveller's  Way.
(i)  //  can  be  injured  by  sin.
