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nothing at all. For inftance, the confequences of Adam's tranfgreffion upon his pofterity; the covenant made with Abraham; the nature and miffion of the Son of God; the grant of bleffings, and of eternal life by him. Concerning thofe things, we could have known nothing at all, had not God revealed them to us. And in fuch matters of pure Revelation, the first thing we have to do, is to inquire, not what human Reafon can discover, but what God has difcovered, and declared in Scripture. But at the fame time it is true, that God hath discovered nothing in Scripture inconfiftent with what he has difcovered in the nature of things expofed to the view of all mankind. And therefore, if we underftand any thing in revealed religion, in a sense contradictory to natural religion, or to the known perfections of God, and the common notions of good and evil, which he hath written upon all our hearts, we may be sure we are in an error, and mistake the fenfe of Revelation.

Í. He who would effectually ftudy the word of God, ought, above all things, to be deeply fenfible of the infinite value of true knowledge and wifdom; and how abfolutely neceffary it is to his eternal happiness, to cultivate and improve his intellectual powers, in the use of all those means which God hath put into his hands, The Scriptures are given us, not for amufement, or mere fpeculation, in perufing the curious remains of antiquity, the language, manners, and Theology of fome celebrated ancients; but they are all, from beginning to end, pointed directly at our hearts and lives, to make us wife unto falvation. There we find every rule of the moft confummate wisdom, and every principle of truth and comfort; and the whole is defigned to refine our nature into its proper excellence, to guide us into the paths of purity, peace, and righteousness; to make us happy in ourselves, and a bleffing to all about us; and finally to qualify us for the full enjoyment of God for

ever.

But if we are cold and indifferent to any attainments in true wisdom ; if we choose to dream, or jeft and trifle away the important feafon of life, defpifing the glorious advantages we enjoy, while we eagerly purfue the low and tranfitory things of this world, in neglect of ourselves, of God, and immortality, of all that is truly great and good and excellent, we fhall receive little or no advantage from any explications of the Holy Scriptures. We fhall not value or relish them, we can have no ground to expect the divine bleffing to affift our ftudies, but have reafon to fear we shall be left to ourselves, to wander from God, from truth, and life, in deplorable ignorance and folly. Attend, therefore, to the voice of Divine Wifdom, Prov, ii. 1, &c. My fon, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments within thee, [lay them up as a treafure in thy heart] so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart unto understanding; yea, if thou crieft after knowledge, and lifteft up thy voice for understanding [as we do for thofe things, which we most of all defire, and moft of all ftand in need of]: If thou feekeft ber as filver, and fearcheft for her as for hid treasures [as covetous men feek money, and ranfack the whole world for the treasures, in whi they delight: If thus you value, and ftudy to advance the improve your minds in knowledge and wisdom]: Then shalt thou under

of

fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God [which of all understanding is infinitely the moft excellent]

II. But this fenfe of the value of Divine Knowledge, and this defire to obtain it, must be understood in a connexion with a fincere endeavour to live agreeably to it. For fhould a perfon, under the greatest advantages of learning, and with the utmost affiduity study the Scriptures, he will be, after all, but a poor proficient in Divine Knowledge, if he do not bring it home to his heart, and reduce it to practice. It is not speculation, but practice and experience, which renders a man truly skilful in any bufinefs. So in Religion, no man can be truly wife and knowing, but he who liveth wifely and virtuously. If ye continue in my word, (faith our Lord, Joh. viii. 31.) then shall ye know the truth, and the truth fball make you free [from the darknefs of ignorance and error, and the fervitude of abfurd lufts and paffions]. Joh. vii. 27. If any man will do his, God's, will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God. [He fhall fee it in its true light, and be convinced that it is perfectly divine.] For (Pfal. xxv. 14.) the fecret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will fhew them his covenant. But (Dan. xii. 10.) the wicked fhall do wickedly, and none of the wicked fhall understand; but the wife [the pious and virtuous] fhall understand.

This is to make you fenfible, that a fincere defire of true knowledge is a neceffary difpofition in entering upon the study of the Scriptures; and the obedience to God's commands, in the course of a pious life, is neceffary to enlarge and establish the judgment in the knowledge of divine truths.

III. To the effectual ftudy of Scripture, it is neceffary, that our minds and hearts be unbiaffed, unprejudiced, open to the truth, and always quite free to difcern and receive it. If our fpirits are under the power of prepoffeffion and prejudice, we cannot be well difpofed for fearching the Scriptures. For inftance, if a perfon, in matters of religion and confcience, is ambitious to gain reputation in the world, or folicitous only to please and recommend himself to a party, how fhould he study the word of God with the fincere and fingle view of discovering and embracing the truth, when he is pré-engaged, and all his care is to find what will please his fellow-creatures, and fuit his own mean and selfish purposes? Joh. v. 44. How can ye believe, who receive honour one of another, whofe ruling principle is the defire of temporal honour, and the favour of men, and feek not the honour which comes from God only, the honour of a good conscience, and of upright conduct? Or, if we refign our understandings and confciences to the authority of human decifions and decrees; or imbibe the bigotry of a party, which determines a person to retain pertinacioufly a fet of religious notions, without confidering, or examining, how far they are agreeable to the word of God, our understandings and judgments are locked up, and no longer at liberty to discover the truth.

It is owing to this malignant caufe, that great numbers of learned men, who call themselves Chriftians, will not allow themselves to make inquiry, whether the worship of faints, images, relicks, bread, and innumerable other abfurd doctrines, and fuperftitious practices, are agreeable to the truth and purity of the Chriftian Religion. The error and

A 4

iniquity

nothing at all. For inftance, the confequences of Adam's tranfgreffion upon his pofterity; the covenant made with Abraham; the nature and miffion of the Son of God; the grant of bleffings, and of eternal life by him. Concerning thofe things, we could have known nothing at all, had not God revealed them to us. And in fuch matters of pure Revelation, the first thing we have to do, is to inquire, not what human Reafon can discover, but what God has difcovered, and declared in Scripture. But at the fame time it is true, that God hath discovered nothing in Scripture inconfiftent with what he has difcovered in the nature of things expofed to the view of all mankind. And therefore, if we underftand any thing in revealed religion, in a sense contradictory to natural religion, or to the known perfections of God, and the common notions of good and evil, which he hath written upon all our hearts, we may be sure we are in an error, and mistake the fenfe of Revelation.

I. He who would effectually ftudy the word of God, ought, above all things, to be deeply fenfible of the infinite value of true knowledge and wifdom; and how abfolutely neceflary it is to his eternal happiness, to cultivate and improve his intellectual powers, in the use of all those means which God hath put into his hands, The Scriptures are given us, not for amufement, or mere fpeculation, in perufing the curious remains of antiquity, the language, manners, and Theology of fome celebrated ancients; but they are all, from beginning to end, pointed directly at our hearts and lives, to make us wife unto falvation. There we find every rule of the most confummate wisdom, and every principle of truth and comfort; and the whole is defigned to refine our nature into its proper excellence, to guide us into the paths of purity, peace, and righteousness; to make us happy in ourselves, and a bleffing to all about us; and finally to qualify us for the full enjoyment of God for

ever.

But if we are cold and indifferent to any attainments in true wisdom if we choose to dream, or jeft and trifle away the important feason of life, defpifing the glorious advantages we enjoy, while we eagerly purfue the low and tranfitory things of this world, in neglect of ourselves, of God, and immortality, of all that is truly great and good and excellent, we fhall receive little or no advantage from any explications of the Holy Scriptures. We fhall not value or relish them, we can have no ground to expect the divine bleffing to affift our ftudies, but have reason to fear we fhall be left to ourselves, to wander from God, from truth, and life, in deplorable ignorance and folly. Attend, therefore, to the voice of Divine Wisdom, Prov, ii. 1, &c. My fon, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments within thee, [lay them up as a treasure in thy heart] fo that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart unto understanding; yea, if thou crieft after knowledge, and lifteft up thy voice for understanding [as we do for those things, which we most of all defire, and moft of all ftand in need of]: If thou feekeft ker as filver, and fearcheft for her as for hid treasures [as covetous men feek money, and ranfack the whole world for the treasures, in which they delight: If thus you value, and study to advance the improvement of your minds in knowledge and wifdom]: Then fhalt thou understand the

fear

fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God [which of all understanding is infinitely the moft excellent].

II. But this fenfe of the value of Divine Knowledge, and this defire to obtain it, must be understood in a connexion with a fincere endeavour to live agreeably to it. For fhould a perfon, under the greatest advan tages of learning, and with the utmost affiduity ftudy the Scriptures, he will be, after all, but a poor proficient in Divine Knowledge, if he do not bring it home to his heart, and reduce it to practice. It is not speculation, but practice and experience, which renders a man truly skilful in any bufinefs. So in Religion, no man can be truly wife and knowing, but he who liveth wifely and virtuously. If ye continue in my word, (faith our Lord, Joh. viii. 31.) then fhall ye know the truth, and the truth fball make you free [from the darkness of ignorance and error, and the fervitude of abfurd lufts and paffions]. Joh. vii. 27. If any man will do his, God's, will, he fhall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God. [He fhall fee it in its true light, and be convinced that it is perfectly divine.] For (Pfal. xxv. 14.) the fecret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will fhew them his covenant. But (Dan. xii. 10.) the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked fhall underfland; but the wife [the pious and virtuous] fhall understand.

This is to make you fenfible, that a fincere defire of true knowledge is a neceffary difpofition in entering upon the study of the Scriptures; and the obedience to God's commands, in the courfe of a pious life, is neceffary to enlarge and establish the judgment in the knowledge of divine truths.

III. To the effectual ftudy of Scripture, it is neceffary, that our minds and hearts be unbiaffed, unprejudiced, open to the truth, and always quite free to difcern and receive it. If our fpirits are under the power of prepoffeffion and prejudice, we cannot be well difpofed for fearching the Scriptures. For instance, if a perfon, in matters of religion and confcience, is ambitious to gain reputation in the world, or folicitous only to please and recommend himself to a party, how fhould he ftudy the word of God with the fincere and fingle view of difcovering and embracing the truth, when he is pre-engaged, and all his care is to find what will please his fellow-creatures, and fuit his own mean and selfish purposes? Joh. v. 44. How can ye believe, who receive honour one of another, whofe ruling principle is the defire of temporal honour, and the favour of men, and feek not the honour which comes from God only, the honour of a good confcience, and of upright conduct? Or, if we refign our understandings and confciences to the authority of human decifions and decrees; or imbibe the bigotry of a party, which determines a perfon to retain pertinaciously a fet of religious notions, without confidering, or examining, how far they are agreeable to the word of God, our understandings and judgments are locked up, and no longer at liberty to discover the truth.

It is owing to this malignant caufe, that great numbers of learned men, who call themselves Chriftians, will not allow themselves to make inquiry, whether the worship of faints, images, relicks, bread, and inramerable other abfurd doctrines, and fuperftitious practices, are agreeable to the truth and purity of the Chriftian Religion. The error and

A 4

iniquity

iniquity of this conduct in Papifts we fee and deteft. But the fame mo❤ ral caufe will in all cafes produce the fame effects. If we act upon the fame vicious principles; if we indulge the like prejudices, and in the fame manner wilfully fhut our eyes, we fhall be more faulty than Papifts, because it is contrary to our profeffion, as Proteftants; and fhall be equally incapable of feeing the truth and glory of our holy Religion. In studying the Scriptures we fhould always keep our minds open to evidence, and further difcoveries of truth; which is the only way to be more and more folidly established in our religious principles; for in no other way can we grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jefus Chrift, Moreover, this is the only poffible mean of reducing the Chriftian world to unity both of hearts and fentiments,

IV. Prayer to God, the Father of Lights, the Fountain of all Illumination, is neceffary to the fuccefsful ftudy of the Scriptures. Prov. ii. 6. The Lord alone gives wisdom; out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. Nor hath he appointed any means, how excellent foever in themselves, which exempt us from a dependence upon his bleffing. All our springs are in him; and his gracious influences render our endeavours, of any kind, fuccefsful. And therefore, when we address ourfelves to the ftudy of the holy Scriptures, we fhould make our fupplication to God, that he would open our eyes, that we may behold wonderous things out of his law. Or, in the Apoftle's words, (Ephef. i. 17, 18.) that the God of our Lord Jefus Chrift, the Father of Glory, would give unto us the fpirit of wisdom, and revelation, in the knowledge of him; that the eyes of our understanding being enlightened, we may have juft apprehenfions of the riches of his wifdom and grace, and that our hearts may be duly impreffed with a deep and lafting fenfe of them.

CHA P. II.

Of the Divine Difpenfations, in Scripture called the WAYS and WORKS

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of GOD,

HE Ways of God be frequently fignify the Rules of Life, which he hath given us to obferve. Pfal. cxix. 3. They alfo do no iniquity; they walk in his ways, i. e. in the law of the Lord, ver. I. And the Works Dwyn of God may fignify the mere ope ration and productions of his power. But both thefe words have a more restricted and emphatical fignification. a Way, fig heth also a course of action, a cuftom, conftitution or inftitution, which any perfon, or number of perfons form to themselves. Prov. viii. 22. The Lord poffeffed me, Wisdom, in the beginning of his Way, before his Works of old. Prov, xii. 26. The way of the wicked, their course of action, feduceth them. Hof. x. 13. Because thou didst truft in thy way, the fchemes and

methods,

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