2 It is the glory of Elohim to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

I will speak of that which is true.

I have not the Spirit as David had,

To frame my thoughts and guide their utterance;

I am less blessed; I can but meditate

With nature's power on what I have learnt,

And what I see and hear.

Yet have I much to rejoice in, and rejoice I will;

I am not so forsaken as my British ancestors—

Rude, painted pagans, who lived as animals;

Who knew not God, but for worship practised

A vain and lowering superstition;

I have the word of God.

The Spirit's voice, though not in me as holy men of old,

Speaks to me: thus am I greatly privileged.

I listen, and am enriched beyond my own poor power

To estimate. I can know the thoughts of God;

The drift of true wisdom, the appointed course of things,

The secret mystery which the world calls

"The problems of our life insoluble."

I am at ease where distraction fills the hearts

Of mere philosophers.

The Christadelphian, Mar 1874

27 It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.

Bro Roberts in 'The Law of Moses' notes the exclusion of honey from the meal offering.

Honey was also forbidden in the meat offerings (Lev. 2:11). What can this mean? Honey is sweet to human taste, and stands even in the ordinary intercourse of men for all that is of self-gratifying character.

That it should be banished from the altar along with leaven stands in striking contrast to the appointment of bitter herbs as an ingredient in the passover sacrifice. It is probably the obverse of the same idea. Self-denial is an indispensable part of divine submission, so self-gratification is a prohibited element. But this has to be applied with qualifications. It is the extreme application of the principle that has led to the sterile asceticisms of ecclesiastical practice.

There are enjoyments permitted. How could it be otherwise? You cannot breathe or walk in the sunshine, or eat or drink or sleep without enjoyment if you are in health.

"The tender mercy of the Lord is over all his works."

He designs nothing but pure joy at last.

But there are enjoyments forbidden: there are mortifications enjoined. Here is where the exclusion of the honey comes in. The law of the Lord is the regulator on all points. For want of this discrimination, many an honest soul is in a state of slavish fear and restraint which is wholly without cause. I have known such in fear to enjoy their meals, in forgetfulness of the fact that the bounties of the table are" created", as Paul says,

"to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth",

Pleasure-seeking, in the gratification of "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life", appears to be the antitypical honey which is out of place on the altar of the Lord. These may be summarized in the phrase "self-complacency"--which is odious even in human intercourse, and, therefore, much more out of place in the service of God.

It is this phase of self-contemplation and self-enjoyment that appears to be identified with the figurative use of honey in the Proverbs:

"It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory" (25:27).

This would suggest that the thing condemned in the typical prohibition of honey from the meat offering was self-glory. It is certain that for a man to come in this spirit to God will ensure repulse.

The one thing required by His glorious majesty and called for in true reason, is the mental attitude more than once defined by Him in the words:

"Poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word"

Law of Moses Ch 24